Living Stones: Stumbling Blocks and Cornerstones

1 Peter 2:5-9

New Living Translation (NLT)

 ⁵ 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. ⁶ 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.”
 ⁷ 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.”
 ⁸ 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.
 ⁹ 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.


Thought for the Day
It is a bit of a shame that in the translations of Simon Peter's name from Aramaic to Greek to Latin and ultimately English, his name became in entrenched in the Greek - Petros, from which is derived the Latin "Petrus", the French "Pierre", the Italian "Pietro", the Spanish and Portuguese "Pedro", the Russian "Piotr", and the English "Peter."

"Petros" in Greek means rock. You will remember from the gospels that it is Jesus who changes Simon's name to "Rock" and then immediately turns it into a pun saying "It is upon this rock that I will build my church." So if along the way Peter's name had been translated into the English "Rocky" or "Stone", we might more quickly grasp what this man named Rocky is saying in the passage above.


In this letter Rocky (Peter) is intent on quoting the scriptures about rocks and stones. Indeed the three quotes he mentions are from the Old Testament Scriptures. Two from Isaiah and one from the Psalms. They are also all three scriptures that Jesus quoted in his teachings. Jesus is the fulfillment of these three Old Testament prophecies. And now Peter is allowing Christ to live through him. The scriptures continue to be fulfilled in Peter. He, too, is now a stumbling block, and a stone rejected by the builders. He is selected to be the cornerstone of God's church on earth.


And we, also, are living stones being built by God into His spiritual temple, and His holy Church; fulfilling His will in this world.


Today's ADVENTure
Pick up a rock as you begin today. Take it with you throughout the day. Each time it gets in your way, remember that God takes what seems to us to be stumbling stones, and uses them as building blocks for our spiritual lives.