1 Peter 2:4-12
As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says:
"See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame." Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
"The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone," and,
"A stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
Something happened today - I learned a deep, meaningful, and enlightening thing in my History of Architecture and Interior Design class. This is an anomaly partly because I am still half asleep at 8:00am, but also partly because the class is one of those classes that comes straight from the textbook so it feels completely pointless to be present... ESPECIALLY at 8:00am.
But today - my dear professor slipped in a little fact and a Biblical connection that reverberates spiritual truths and enhances my understanding of scripture. A good reminder of just one more valuable aspect of History.Cave Temples, often found in India, were temples literally carved out of the sides of mountains. They would carve out all the rock leaving open space, and columns which they decorated to keep the mountain from collapsing on top of them.
These columns were referred to as "living stones" because they are still 100% connected with the mountain. There is no seam, no chance of sliding them out, they are an integral part of the mountain which has been carved out to serve a specific purpose. They are a part of the mountain, and yet they are different from the rest of the mountain.This is EXACTLY what Peter is referring to! It is the imagery he chooses to use to tell his message and allow his listeners to understand on a meaningful and vivid level. And it has so many implications for Christians today, if only we all really knew what a "living stone" really was!
1st level of interpretation:
We are made in the image of God. God has molded us out of himself, here to serve a specific purpose, but still connected to him in the most intimate way. We were made to be a part of him and for him to be all of us, we have not been made to be separate. We have been created in a way that we may have intimate relationship with God.
2nd level of interpretation:
We are a royal priesthood, made to be a part of the world, and yet stand apart from it. We are created to have a purpose that makes us so much different from the rest of the world, and yet be truly in the world and have true, meaningful relationships with other people. We are to be the supports that help a sinful world stand, we are to be a testimony to the power and grace found in Christ. We are a priesthood that intercedes between Christ and the world. It is our responsibility to be the connection to Christ that people need
As Christians, we are inseparable from the world, but should also be inseparable from God. We are the integral connection, it is our responsibility to be the royal priesthood. It is the way we were created.
