1 Peter 2:4-6—“Cornerstone & “Living Stones”

Peter wrote the letter we know as 1 Peter to folks who felt like aliens in their communities because they faithfully followed Jesus. They suffered real hardships and Peter offered multiple pieces of advice on how to live in those circumstances.

Today’s reading is one of those pieces of advice. Peter told his readers to consider Jesus to be their “cornerstone” and themselves to be “living stones” that would be joined into a structure that God was building.  1 Peter 2:4-6.

What does that mean? We can get some specifics by understanding what a “cornerstone” was and thinking about what is involved in a stone becoming part of a building.

“Cornerstone.” In Peter’s day a cornerstone was not just a stone that listed information about the building. Instead, it was the foundation for the whole structure. It provided benchmarks for the horizontal and vertical lines of the building’s walls. It had to be of extraordinary quality to maintain its integrity under the stresses the building would be subjected to over time. See A Christian Stone Mason's Look At The Cornerstone. 

It’s easy to see how Jesus is analogous to a cornerstone. He is the foundation for all of creation. He created it. John 1:3. He sets creation’s dimension because He is the “logos” or logic that underlies it. John 1:1-3; Jesus is the Logos (ummm…what?)  . He holds it together. Colossians 1:17. He will always be/do those things. Hebrews 13:8. We are therefore wise to look to and rest upon Jesus in dealing with the stresses in our lives.

“Living Stones.” This metaphor requires a little imagination to unpack. What would be required to be a useful “stone” that is going to be part of a building? Several things come to mind.

The stone must be willing to be modified. Stones rarely come out of the ground in the condition and shape needed. At a minimum long accumulated dirt must be removed. Parts will likely need to be chiseled off. What’s left might need to be polished.  Similar things are likely necessary for us to be the parts of God’s building He intends us to be. That’s probably why scripture places so much emphasis on being open to God’s correction.  See the scriptures collected at  Wisdom Principles--Rebuke & Openness to Correction . 

The stone must also be willing to be aligned with Jesus.  As previously discussed, He is the cornerstone, the benchmark, that sets the location for every stone that will be incorporated into the structure God is building. Individual believers must align themselves with what Jesus wants to fulfill His purposes for each of them. That often requires that we change our plans and abandon our priorities, but the result will ALWAYS be better if we do that. Proverbs 3:5-8, 11-12. 

The stone must also be joined to others.  An individual brick doesn’t do much good unless it is joined with others, and the same is true of us. We must plug into community to reach our full potential.  Some great ways to do that are discussed here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

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We cannot honestly say that Christians in 21^st century America face the level of hardship Peter’s readers faced, but we also can’t deny that we will be somewhat alienated from contemporary society if we truly follow Jesus.  If the advice Peter gave his readers helped them cope with the far greater alienation they faced, they will definitely help us in our less severe, but nonetheless real, challenges. We are therefore wise to follow that advice.

Prayer:

Holy Spirit, draw us to Jesus. Help us make Him the foundation and benchmarks for our lives. Help us align our lives to His plans, to be willing to change to fit into those plans, and to join evermore closely with fellow believers. We ask this in His name.