TODAY’S VERSE
1 Peter 2:7b
“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” (ESV)
My older brother Chris and I were both raised singing “special music” at church. If you don’t know what that means, in traditional church settings this refers to a vocal piece sung by someone other than the congregation.
When I was young, my special solo was usually “O Holy Night” during Christmas. I would “sing” so loud into the microphone that an older lady named Geneva would take her hearing aids out… every single time. I wish I was joking! My brother, however, was blessed with a singing voice that people pay to hear at weddings and ask to sing beautiful hymns at funerals. I vividly remember him singing In Christ Alone (My Hope Is Found) one weekend when he came home from college. It starts out with these words:
“In Christ alone, my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.”
Geneva definitely didn’t take her hearing aids out for that song!
As Scott said yesterday, when building anything, you must first assemble the foundation. To get a solid foundation, you have to begin with the most important part: the cornerstone. The cornerstone gives the decisive shape to the whole foundation and everything else that will be built upon it. There can only be one cornerstone.
Which brings us back to 1 Peter 2:7. This verse reminds us that the world doesn't always recognize what’s most valuable. People may overlook or even reject us, but their opinions don’t determine our worth. Jesus Himself was rejected by people, yet He is the cornerstone on which our faith is built. Jesus isn’t just a piece of our foundation; He is the foundation.
The words my brother sang so beautifully remind me that our hope, strength, and identity are found only in Jesus. We can so easily build our lives on our careers, our relationships, our accomplishments, or what other people think of us. But none of those things can shoulder the weight the way Christ can.
APPLICATION
The question I want to ask you today is this: What are you building your life on? When everything else shakes, changes, or falls away, Christ alone remains our hope, our strength, and our solid ground. Let's make sure that Jesus isn't simply someone we sing about just on Sunday, but the One we build our entire lives upon every day.
PRAYER
Father, thank You for sending Your Son to be the cornerstone that we can rely on when storms come. Remind us that our foundation is secure in You, even when the world offers us a thousand other things we could build our lives on. Thank You for Your faithfulness. In Jesus’ name, amen.