God's living 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. 1 Peter 2:4-5 CSB
Peter emphasizes that believers are to grow together in the next following verses. In order for believers to do this, we first must grow with Christ, “come to Him, a Living Stone.” Christ is alive and is the foundation for what we believe and have hope in. Yet, the world had rejected Christ, “rejected by people.” We can see this prophesied in Psalm 118:22, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” Christ was rejected and ultimately crucified, yet Christ was “chosen and honored by God.” In other translations, it says that Christ was “precious,” which emphasizes the cost of our redemption. Now that we are a part of God’s family, we become the church, the “living stones” built upon the chief cornerstone, Christ, “the Living stone.” We are a “spiritual house,” a home for the Holy Spirit to indwell. He changes us as we pursue holiness under His guidance. We are being “built to be a holy priesthood.” During the time of Moses, the only people that had access directly with the Lord were the priests in the line of Aaron. The priests would come on behalf of the people to God. As believers, we all have access to the Lord. Therefore, we have a duty to fulfill here on earth, “offer[ing] spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” Paul describes one aspect of spiritual sacrifice as our entire being to the Lord, which can include our gifts, seen in Romans 12:1-9, but I’ll share verse 1, “Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.” May we come together, as the church, building up one another as the living stones, so that we may offer spiritual sacrifices that are pleasing and acceptable to the Lord.
Blessings,
Isaac De Guzman
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