Living Stones

Day 3: 1 Corinthians 14:12, 26

Hello, living stones! You have probably heard of the shortages of various things that affect our lives. Global warming may make chocolate more pricey as the places where cacao plants grow are becoming less hospitable to their cultivation. The depletion of rare earth metals is similarly going to make cell phones more expensive. But you know one surprising thing whose disappearance is threatening how we live—literally? Sand. It is used in making concrete, which is 70% sand. With the human population of the world growing, we need ever more sand to make concrete for building cities. We are talking specifically river bottom sand, which works much better than desert sand or sand created by simply crushing rocks. Believe it or not, the proper kind of sand is getting so scarce and so expensive that criminal gangs have gotten involved and there is an underground sand market!

To build you need the proper materials. In rebuilding God's new world, God is using us in two capacities: as helpers in building and as part of the building. Today we are going to explore further the metaphor of us being living stones. You need the right stuff if you are building something that will last. Which means we need to be the right stuff if we are to be the spiritual house for God's Spirit.

When we are baptized, we received God's Holy Spirit. That makes us each a temple or dwelling place for his Spirit. But the Spirit of God is not just a guest. He is the rightful owner. As Paul says, “Or don't you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought for a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

When you are a guest, you don't take it upon yourself to make changes in the place you are staying. You're not going to repaint, much less knock out walls. But the owner can do what he wants. And let's face it, when you were bought with Jesus' blood, you were a bit of a fixer-upper. Not only repairs but renovations are called for. As Anne Lamott puts it, God loves you just as you are but he loves you too much to leave you that way. You can be so much more.

Without getting into too much detail, what the Spirit wants to make you into, as C.S. Lewis put it, is a little Christ. And becoming a Christlike person is, like all major building projects, not something that takes place overnight. It will take a lifetime. Some days the results will be obvious. Other days, when the Spirit is working out the fine details, it will seem like nothing is happening. And there are too many days when we will get in his way, sabotaging his work in us. But we know what the qualities are that he is trying to bring out in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, generosity, faithfulness and self-control. People with those qualities are people God can build his kingdom on.

Let us pray: Lord God, King of the Universe, Heavenly Father, we are humbled that you have chosen us to make into your kingdom. We are amazed that you see in us the possibility that we can in any way be like your Son Jesus. So help us get out of the way of the Spirit's renovation of our lives. Show us the ways in which we can help this project. And keep us from criticizing how slow or seemingly ineffective is your work in other Christians. Keep us focused on our own project because neither we nor anyone else has any idea what you are working with. We ask these things in the name of your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, and through the power of your Holy Spirit, who live and reign with you, Father, one God forever and ever. Amen.