Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:1-5
~and~
Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matthew 7:14
Living Stones – Narrow Paths
Can a narrow path and a living stone find common ground, and if so, how and where do these analogies merge? Can there be mutuality? Yes! With God all things are possible! His Word (the Bible) is the contextual masterpiece in which we find cohesion. It’s a tapestry so complex only God could weave it, yet so simple it’s but of a single thread. Our Father has created these beautiful landscapes, whereby His children may prosper and grow — with divine purpose — as they’re submitted to being grafted into the picture by a Loving and Faithful Hand.
Consider this snapshot. If you’re a Christian, it means you’re walking the straight and narrow path. If you’re walking the straight and narrow path, it means someone is in front of you and someone is behind you. If someone is in front of you and someone is behind you, it means you’re always a follower and always a leader. The image is that clear.
So it is with our spiritual house, for the living stone (the Christian) is also on a narrow path. We are to be cozied on either side by our brothers and sisters in the Lord. As one stone is positioned, so then is another, and then another. We’re lined-up in accordance to where the Lord has placed us. But Christians take notice: we are not stationary — we are alive. We are by God’s grace moving minerals, breathing boulders, and ready rubble; it’s our God-given nature. In our redeemed condition, we cannot be inert, immobile, or inactive.
Therefore, let us not be the ones who declare, “I am a leader only,” or “I am but a follower.” That only serves to distinguish ourselves in such a manner that sets us apart from the other stones, the church. If you find that there’s no one in front of you or behind you, then you’re either off the path or off the wall. In a very real sense, you’re not in the picture. Oh, that doesn’t mean you’re not saved necessarily, but that you’re not functioning properly.
Jesus is our Leader!
And we are His followers. But take note: Jesus is not on the path, He is the path! He is the rock beneath our feet. This Rock of ours is not a puny pedestal upon which we pontificate, but the pervading platform upon which we proudly ply. Our Jesus is not fallen or fallow — He’s the Living Cornerstone of infinite dimension and we were quarried to be living stones grafted upon this sure foundation. His Holy attributes and accomplished work pave the Way and His perfect example guides us.
And while we could say He is in front of us, that would not be entirely accurate, for our God is not bound by our limited perception. He envelops us inside and out. Look around! Jesus endures in the stone before you and the one behind, while also abiding in you! Fore and aft, this is our Christian posture. We are called to both lead and follow! Never consider yourself so novice that another cannot glean, or so advanced that you cannot learn. The hearer and doer of God’s word is simultaneously a follower and a leader.
We should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head–Christ–from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. Ephesians 4:14-16
These articles may or may not be related:
- Why Some Christians Don’t Want To Be Called Christian (stevesimms.wordpress.com)
- Living Like Jesus! (work4christ.wordpress.com)
- Talking to Muslims About Jesus Without Compromise (mark-cannon.com)
- The ‘Jesus’ the World Loves (pilgrimpassing.com)
- 7 Reasons America Has Not Been Reached For Christ (vineoflife.net)
- A Pleasing Purity (whateverforeveramen.wordpress.com)
- Revival: The Christians Only Resolution (compassiondave.wordpress.com)
- A Walk with the Wise: A meditation on the Feast of Epiphnay (adw.org)
- The Cost (myworldintheword.wordpress.com)
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