The Stone of Justice, Part 2

People are really hungry for God these days, but this foundation He has insisted on for the building of his house and his kingdom, well, it really is a problem (1 Peter 2:1-10, see previous post). It's huge, after all. This one big, sturdy, obvious corner stone, has become an offense and sadly, a stumbling block in the path to God. Critics may insist there are many ways to God - any way they seek - but cutting up the ordained Foundation into many pieces does not result in more foundation, it results in sand -- something impossible to build on.

I am NOT disparaging the many varied and beautiful cultures around the world and their unique passions, priorities, and views of the divine. And I most definitely do not despise the diverse manifestations of Christ to individual hurting hearts. The living stones that make up God's temple are varied. God is vast, and his dwelling place has many rooms (John 14:2), but it has only one foundation.

Perhaps this foundation is so offensive not because it is big or singular, but because it is bloody. Perhaps it is rejected because it dresses in the garb of servanthood. Perhaps it is frightening because it claims to BE God. Perhaps it is despised because it cannot be found just anywhere. No, the passage says God laid this foundation in a particular favored spot. It is not in Mecca, or Athens, or Badrinath, or Sedona.
God divinely laid this choice stone in ZION.
He planted it.
In the ground.
On a hill.
Called Calvary.

This means that mankind is not good enough to reach God. It means to be in relationship with God, we must go through another. It means our sacrifice is insufficient. It means that God is not only gracious and forgiving, but he is also just. Our sin and insufficiency cannot be overlooked.

They can only be crucified.

It also means we are not God, nor above him, nor equal to him. It means that we have neither a clue how, nor an ounce of power to be able, to reach Him or get him into our lives. This is humiliating if you're trying to be divine - or religious - but actually it's really good news. It means we can stop trying so hard.

We can just fling ourselves onto that big, bloody slab and rest on what he has done.
Rest on what he is.

It may not get us fortune or fame or personal fulfilment. It certainly does not promise a life free of stupid mistakes or even theological confusion. But the promise of 1 Peter 2 is that those who believe - who lay their head, their thinking, their ideologies, their hopes and dreams of connection with God - on this tried and true Cornerstone will "not be disappointed."