1 Peter 2:4-5 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.
Life doesn't seem to rock when we are rejected by people - I am painfully aware of my need to be loved and accepted in my life. As much as I wished I was an island and I could stand alone - the sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me... the reality is rejection is difficult because one of our huge human needs is acceptance. But God knows rejection is part of life and so we might as well get ready for it and be prepared for rejection when it comes. The life giving part of rejection is our connection with Christ. When we are rejected because of of our association with Him, then we can know He is with us and we can know He is fighting for us. Of course when I am rejected because of my own selfish and sinful decisions, that may be a different reaction from Jesus.
We are being built into a spiritual temple - When we are alive in Christ, He is building us up together to make something that honors God. We become a place to worship and honor God. When we get feeling like our lives are lacking purpose and meaning, we can repeat this passage to ourselves - I am a part of God's spiritual temple. If God is building it, it is awesome!
We are holy priest - as living stones who are part of God's spiritual temple our role is to be a priest. We get to help other people have a connection with the awesome God who has brought us spiritual life. We were just dead stones - hard hearts - cold living - spiritually dead. Now we are ALIVE and we can help other people experience life in Christ.
We offer sacrifices to God that He finds pleasing - When we take time to meditate on Christ and to connect with Him through scripture and prayer, we are offering God a sacrifice. A pleasing sacrifice! I think too often we see our lives and our existence as a lousy sacrifice that God surely isn't please with because we could always do better or more. But God knows our hearts and is pleased not because the world thinks our sacrifice is great, but because form our hearts we honor God.
Keep Living Real Life in Christ!
