Thursday, March 1, 2018
You are
coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen
by God for great honor. And you are
living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you
offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.
As the Scriptures say, “I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen
for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor
God has given him. But for those who
reject him, “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the
cornerstone.” And, “He is the stone that
makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they do not obey God’s
word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them. But you are not like that, for you are a
chosen people. You are royal priests, a
holy nation, God’s very own possession. As
a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the
darkness into his wonderful light. “Once
you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have
received God’s mercy.” 1 Peter 2:4-10(NLT)
Yesterday we
concluded with the L
Apostle Peter was outspoken,
impetuous, and sometimes too-quick-to-act!
He had lived on both sides of what is written in this epistle that bears
his name:
·
Peter knew what it was like to be full
of faith, accepted and part of the building known as the kingdom of
God; he was a friend of Jesus.
·
Peter also knew what it was like to have
Jesus look him in the eyes – deep, all the way to his soul – and call him the
Adversary, Satan, the opposer of God.[2]
For the man who always
threw himself into the middle of everything, Peter knew what it was to have put
himself on the outside, looking-in! And,
after the resurrection, when things started to become clearer, Peter knew what
it was like for a man who had failed, messed things up beyond hope…to have hope
restored…to have the strong embrace of Jesus draw him back, forgiven,
strengthened and re-purposed to a mission that would be the cornerstone of God’s
plan.
Lent is a time for
reflecting on this roller coaster of life.
Jesus experienced
the accolades of popularity when he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey; they
hailed him as Messiah. A week later
those same crowds stoned his name as they screamed for Pilate to send Jesus to
the cross. We experience Peter’s ride of
being born with the image of God stamped all over our souls, and distorting
that image with our sinful choices…and paying the consequence of being an outsider. And we can experience what Peter knew – the forgiveness
of God – and being restored.
Lent is designed
as the most perfect reminder of all that.
Whether rejected because we choose unbelief, or basking in the joy of
faith and God’s wonderful fellowship, we are all called to see why, and have
our faith restored, and/or strengthened.
For those who will
hear/heed this Lenten call, it is a win-win.
For You Today
If you’ve ever felt rejected like Peter,
like God is somehow holding you away from Him at arm’s length, remember Peter’s
roller coaster ride; that which has been rejected can be restored.
You can turn again…and live!
You chew on that as you hit the
Rocky Road; have a blessed day.
