Sticky Memories & Living Stones
How a couple of rocks in the high desert helped me understand Peter's discussion of stones and spiritual houses in 1 Peter 2.
Some memories stick to your brain better than others. Superglued to my synapses is the memory of waiting out a rainstorm with my grandpa during an adventure in the Owyhee Mountains of Southern Idaho. I can see him, silk handkerchief tied around his neck, cowboy hat pushed back, looking out across the sagebrush below us. We had taken shelter halfway up a mountainside, under a rock shelf, waiting for the rain to pass. The wet sagebrush smell, fresh and clean, was all-encompassing, reinforced by every shift of the wind. Lightning lit the horizon with spectacular flashes. We talked of nothing and everything while the drops fell.
Like many storms in the high desert, this one didn’t last long. Just as it cleared, we saw the rest of the family in the truck, driving out across the sagebrush below us. Weighing my youth and Grandpa’s age against the storm, they had gotten worried and had come to find us. Unfortunately, before we could get their attention, we heard a mighty “clang-clunk,” and the truck came to an abrupt stop.
We immediately started down the hill to see what was going on. Grandpa and I reached the truck at about the same time my dad crawled out from underneath it. The driveshaft running to the rear wheels had struck a massive boulder hidden by a sagebrush bush. High-centered, with a bent driveline, we couldn’t go anywhere.
There we were, a hundred miles from civilization, with a stuck truck. So, Dad did what any self-respecting redneck would do: jacked the truck up off the boulder, pulled the driveshaft out, locked in the four-wheel-drive, and we rolled out of there in a newly improvised front-wheel-drive pickup.
That rock led to a major repair and an indelible memory.
Rocks can be beneficial, like the one that kept Grandpa and I dry and safe through the storm, or they can be a problem, like the one that hit the driveshaft.
It all depends on the circumstances.
The Apostle Peter knew something about rocks or stones. After all, Jesus gave him his very name, meaning “rock.” Perhaps that is why, in chapter two of his first letter, we find him reflecting on stones:
“As you come to him, a living stone—rejected by people but chosen and honored by God—you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and honored cornerstone. And the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.”
Jesus is “a living stone” and “a chosen and honored cornerstone.” He stands as the beginning and reference point for everything that comes after.
Peter’s audience, Jesus’ followers, are “living stones” being built into a “spiritual house.” Their connection to the cornerstone makes them valuable pieces of the overall construction.
The language used highlights a simple fact: these rocks, these stones are beneficial; they are good. Jesus is the best, His followers follow Him, and amazing work takes place for the glory of God and the good of the nations.
But Peter is not done talking about stones:
“So honor will come to you who believe; but for the unbelieving, The stone that the builders rejected—this one has become the cornerstone, and A stone to stumble over, and a rock to trip over. They stumble because they disobey the word; they were destined for this.”
In Peter’s mind, those who ought to have known better could reject the Living Cornerstone. Instead of being a blessing, it could be a curse for those who stumble over it.
Rocks can shelter, but they can also bust drivelines.
Jesus can bless and build, but He can also impede and condemn.
What makes the difference? Whether or not Jesus is believed and whether or not Jesus is obeyed. Those two things, belief and obedience, go hand-in-hand and cannot be separated biblically.
Unbelievers reject Jesus, and He is a stumbling block for the disobedient.
Conversely, Jesus is accepted by believers and is a cornerstone off which a life of obedience can be built and an identity as a living stone can be claimed.
Is Jesus your cornerstone, or is He a stumbling block for you? Don’t give the easy “Sunday School” answer: ask yourself two questions:
Do I believe Jesus is God’s Son sent to redeem humanity and reign forever?
Do I regularly base my decisions on His commands and example?
A life with Christ as cornerstone comes from answering “yes” to both questions. A life with Him as a stumbling block comes from answering “no” to one or both.
If you answer “yes” to both, Jesus is your shelter from the storms of life, the rock holding your everything together.
If you answer “yes” to the first but “no” to the second, then you’ve caught your foot on Jesus, and you’re stumbling because “unless Jesus is Lord of all, He is not Lord at all.”
If you answer “no” to the first but “yes” to the second, you’re high-centered on the boulder that is Christ: whatever lofty ambitions you may have, you’ve got no power to get anywhere with them.
If you answer “no” to both, then Jesus’ return as the triumphant King of Kings and Lord of Lords will be like a meteor crashing into and shattering your world.
Rocks can shelter, but they can also bust drivelines.
Jesus can bless and build, but He can also condemn and destroy. Thinking carefully about our response to Him is the most important thing we can do.
(Psalm 18:2) "The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower"
May God bless you! And blessed be the Name of the LORD 💟🙏😊