Stone By Stone

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.” Acts 17:24

I have just finished the study of James and am sad that it is over. I never realized James, half-brother of Christ, was such a predominant figure in Christianity. He was Jewish to the bone and never wavered away from his upbringing, but rather infused the Old Testament teachings and prophesies into the perfect New Testament picture. He was killed before the second destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D. When Rome besieged Jerusalem the Temple was destroyed stone by stone as predicted by Jesus around 30 A.D. ‘Do you see all these great buildings?’ replied Jesus. ‘Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.’ Mark 13:2

This destruction did not catch God off guard but played into the redemptive plan that God has for each of us. As magnificent as the Temple was, it was only a place built by human hands. Just as a home becomes only a house when a family moves out, such is the same with God’s spirit. After the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, there was a new blue print in place. A new foundation was poured and we each have a perfect place to set our stone. No stone is greater than another for each has a perfect purpose and place in that spiritual temple. Because of the Trinity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we have all that is required to be a living stone in this world. God planned out the redemptive reconciliation between Himself and the world. He sent His son to pour out His life for us, thereby pouring a new foundation for the Temple of God. The Holy Spirit resides within us to enable our lives to pursue purity and righteous living.

‘As you come to him, the living Stone – rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices accepted to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.’ Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone, and, ‘A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.’ They stumble because they disobey the message...’ 1 Peter 2:4-8.

Every one of us has the building potential to 'set our stone' anchored to the Cornerstone. Some of us will live out our lives as dead stones setting the focus of our lives on the earthly temperate troubles and goals but others of us will anchor our lives in the living love and purpose of God. Our obedience towards the message of collecting more stones for the spiritual house of God will ensure a more powerful and fortified Body of Christ.

Anything that we are building in our lives based on our own will and in our own strength will be disassembled, stone by stone. Blessed are we who believe that this Stone is precious!