As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones. – 1 Peter 2:4-5a

Today's Scripture Reading (June 9, 2024):  1 Peter 2

You are "living stones." It is hard to think of a phrase that sounds more foolish. Stones are anything but alive. And yet, the first-century audience would have heard the meaning loud and clear.

It started with the recognition of who Jesus was. He was the Cornerstone, the stone that the Old Testament said the builders rejected. They couldn't believe that there could be any use for the stone. It was destined to be thrown away onto the gravel pile. But although the workers couldn't find value in it, the architect took one look at it and chose it to be the Cornerstone. He picked this stone to have a higher place than any of the rest. As the chosen stone was set into place, it became precious, a stone that the building could not exist without.

It is an Old Testament analogy that found its meaning in the ministry of Jesus Christ. He was the stone the builders rejected; the existing religious structure didn't like what he taught, and they had problems with how he lived. They set out to destroy him, first by taking away his dignity, then by causing others not to trust him, and finally by ridiculing those who chose to follow him.

But God had chosen him before time began to be the Cornerstone, the one that builders of the house in all of their wisdom would reject, but that God, the architect, had chosen. He had said you are mine. You will be the Cornerstone of the New Covenant I will have with all of my children. It will be a covenant where I will no longer write my laws on lifeless stone tablets but on moldable hearts of flesh. And you, the one I have chosen, will be more precious than silver or gold, for those sacrifices cannot make up for a heart of sin. But you, my child, your sacrifice, I will accept on their behalf.

Peter writes that in the same way, we are living stones. We were rejected. I know that sometimes we think that we are rejected because we are Christians, but I am not sure that I believe that. This world seems to delight in using people and throwing them away. Every day, I meet people who have never heard the gospel's good news. Once, we were rejected, but God the Father was unwilling to allow us to stay there. So, he chose us. He said that he had a plan for us. Although this world may have taught us that we were useless and nothing, the master architect disagrees.

We are now not only chosen, but we are precious. Precious enough to be called God's children and precious enough for Jesus to say we are his body. Let no one do anything to take away from that.

Have you ever heard a comment and retorted, "Yeah, and who are you?"

Here is my answer: I was once rejected, but now I am chosen, and I am precious; I am created to worship; my purpose is to give worth to something, and because I am chosen and I am precious, my worship is worth something. I don't believe that we always think that way. And deep down, my job is really that of a garbage collector. There are people all around us who have been beaten and chewed up by the world. They are rejected, and as much as they may deny it, they know it. But God sees them as chosen and precious and created for worship. My job is to tell them precisely that.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 3