“And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 2:4-5 NASB
(The photo attached is a very special fall gift for our front steps from one of our marvelous neighbors. We are so blessed to be so included in a neighborhood. Who would have thought – a busy street in a Central New York city. God is awesome!)
This passage will change our lives if we will really mediate on it and allow it to sink into our being. It is about us. God’s choosing and God’s loving us. We come to Him and find that He has been waiting all along to receive, to bless and to allow us to experience His heart. Here He calls us “living stones.” You see, God has been building a house all along. We find illusions to it all through the Old Covenant. Let me quote a book I am reading.
“The Bible’s story begins by telling us about the world where the story takes place. In the Bible, the world is the real world that we live in, the world that God created. But the Bible describes the world in a particular way. In some places, the Bible describes it as a house. Talking to Job from the whirlwind, Yahweh asks: ‘Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth! Tell me, if you know understanding, Who set its measurements, since you know? Or who stretched the line on it? On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy? [Job 33:4-7] Earth and especially mountains, are set on ‘foundations’ (Deuteronomy 32:32; 2 Samuel 22:8, 16; Psalm 104:5) just like the foundations that hold up a house. Blue sky is stretched out above like a ‘tent curtain’ (Isaiah 40:22). Pillars support the earth (Job 9:6) and heaven (Job 26:11). When God first appears in the Bible, He is building a house.” A House For My Name, by Peter J. Leithart, pp. 43-44
In the New Covenant in Ephesians and Hebrews, statements made are also about His house. Then there are the ones in 1 Corinthians 3 & 6 about us being the temple of the Holy Spirit. Now here in 1 Peter – more of the same.
You, my precious believing friend, are the house of His dreams. He is not after a house of brick and mortar, but the heart and spirit of the one He created to “being with” – you and me. We are the “living stones” that are being built up as a “spiritual house” for this holy priesthood that offers the living sacrifice of life, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Such a high calling. Such a marvelous concept to grasp and to ponder. Such a gift of love and empowerment in becoming. Truly our God is awesome!
Mannaword 