Eclectic Stones
Peter tells us to put away all falsehood: deceit, hypocrisy, envy,
and slander. That’s a pretty significant
list. I’m not going to say it’s
all-inclusive because it leaves off things like lust and pride. But it’s a pretty good list nonetheless. We would be better if those qualities did not
exist in our spiritual lives. We would
not only be better; we’d be different from the world. We’d be different – separate, holy, eclectic.
Peter calls Jesus the eclectic and precious cornerstone here in
this passage. As we did yesterday, let’s
remember what eclectic really means.
Eclectic means selected out, chosen, purposed. Jesus was unique – there’s a mouthful! He had a chosen purpose. He came not only to experience life and to
teach but also to die for our sake. He
was eclectic indeed!
Peter then goes on to say that we are also eclectic stones like
Jesus. We are living stones built on the
eclectic purpose of Jesus. Our life is
not about us. What a silly and preposterous
concept! Our life is about being built
on the eclectic foundation that is Jesus Christ. God has taken us and purposed us. He has chosen us to be a spiritual
household. We are to be a royal
priesthood. We are to be those who take
the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world!
As a bit of an abstract, I began to ponder brick walls as I read
through this passage. Ever see a brick
wall where one of the bricks is just not the right color? It’s glaring and obvious. I couldn’t help but wonder what that looks
like with Jesus. If He is the foundation
and we are being built upon Him, what do I look like as a part of that wall
when my sinfulness rears its ugly head?
When I sin, I am like a brick painted black in the middle of a white
wall. I am called to be eclectic from
the world, but when I sin I show just how much I actually have in common with
the rest of the world looking on. That’s
not how God intends for me to be.
Rather, I am to be a brick built into the wall that takes my lead from
the foundation that is in Christ.
Royal Priesthood
I love this passage of the Bible.
This is one of my go-to passages when I think about what the church
should really look like. Y’all are a
kingly (royal) priesthood. Y’all are an eclectic
(chosen) race. Y’all are a separate
(holy) nation. Y’all are His
possession. What an awesome statement!
Tell me, to whom is Peter talking if not to all of God’s people?
If Peter is talking to the whole of God’s chosen people, then why
do we “do church” as though the pastor is more significant than anyone
else? Why do we “do church” as though
you have to be a certain gender, class, or age to participate in some
activities? Why do we “do church” as
though only certain people are gifted by the Holy Spirit?
We do it because it makes it easier to take the low road. It is easier to sit in the pew and not change
if we believe that these verses don’t apply equally to me as much as the
spiritual leader. On the other hand, leaders
do it because it is easier to hold people captive to the power of the leader
when we believe this passage doesn’t apply equally to everyone.
No, we are a people. We are
an eclectic collection. We are called
for His purpose, and all of us are equipped for that purpose! Our callings may vary, but we are all called
to something! We were not always a part
of God’s eclectic collection, but we are now.
We are to go and live that reality out.
Submission
Here we get into a topic that is not inherently American. I know, I probably just offended 98% of
people in making that claim. But this
passage is not inherently American.
America is the land of the free.
We can do whatever we want. We
can be whomever we want. We can love the
way we want. We can read whatever we
want. We can work when we want, play
when we want, and rest when we want. We
loathe it when there is someone over us.
We seek to break free of it whenever we can. Is that not why teenagers strive for
graduation from High School? Is that not
why we see so many people celebrate the weekend? If we loved being submissive wouldn’t we love
work, school, and parents?
But in Christ, we are to be servants. We are to serve God. We are to serve one another. We are to toss our agenda to the side and
embrace God.
I’m curious how often we as Americans do this. When is the last person you heard who went on
vacation and said, “As a family we really went before God and asked if this was
the right time for vacation?” Or when is
the last time you heard someone say, “I prayed to God today to make sure the
clothes I chose to wear would be pleasing to Him.” When is the last time you saw someone
genuinely pray before speaking their mind?
You see, we aren’t inherently servants. We are inherently masters of our own
life. We do what we want and don’t care
to have anyone else tell us whether our choices are right or wrong.
So why do we submit?
Because Christ submitted. If we truly
believe that we are healed by His wounds, we should appreciate submission. He submitted even when He did not have
to. Therefore we should submit as
well. We should be willing to submit to
the one who submitted for us.
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