Building

1 Peter 2:4-10 (NIV)

1 Peter 2:4-10 (NIV)

By definition, a cornerstone is a stone that forms the base of a corner of a building that joins two walls. It sits at the foundation and aligns the rest of the building. If the cornerstone is out of alignment, the rest isn’t right.

            This is a topic that seems most appropriate as we go into a new year. We tend to make New Year’s Resolutions, yes? Not many of us (me included) ever live up to those resolutions. Why? Probably because they are unreasonable. They are unreachable. Another reason just might be that our cornerstone is out of alignment. How can one maintain a resolution if one’s cornerstone is out of alignment? Those resolutions can’t possibly be accomplished.

            So, who is our cornerstone? Is it Christ? I believe it is. God sent Him to be our cornerstone—to be our alignment and stabilizing force. We just finished celebrating His birth. That alone should remind us of the importance of having Christ as our cornerstone. Peter tells us that it looks like this: Christ is our stone bridge. This gives us cohesion and purpose. Jesus is the Foundation, the Pillar, and He is also the Purpose of the Church. As the people, His people, we are the church. We are the living, breathing, movable part. We are cemented together into a spiritual house.

However, if our career is our cornerstone when things happen like a layoff, we crumble. If health and well-being is our cornerstone when our health declines, what happens to our spirit? The facility will not stand if anything other than Christ is the cornerstone. As you can see, construction sites are filled with cranes and scaffolding and all sorts of machinery. But first, the foundation is laid with the cornerstone put in its proper place.

Building

Photo by Scott Blake on Unsplash

I have three daughters. One might think since they were all raised by the same parents with the same set of rules, they’d all be the same, right? Wrong. They are totally different in every way. As a teen, my oldest daughter had zero common-sense. Not a drop. I apologize in advance to all the blondes out there. But, we always told her she had blonde roots. However, in her defense, this kid could read a book and quote it back to you verbatim—seriously. Give her a common-sense situation and she was doomed. Couldn’t figure it out to save her soul. Plus she was always a bit of a flake. But we loved her anyway. Now, all grown up, any common-sense she lacked as a teen, she has more than recouped as an adult. And, I love her still.

My middle daughter has more common sense in her little finger than a group of college professors stacked one atop the other. Never quite as academically inclined as I’d wished, but could figure her way out of any situation simply by applying her God-given common-sense. Now, this made life interesting for my husband and me because growing up, she was an amazing liar. But that’s a story for another time. J Now, as an adult, she owns her own home and rocks the house in her career.

My youngest daughter is an academic through and through. So stinkin’ smart it hurts my feelings because I’m so not on her level. But that means although she’s academically brilliant, she’s not at the common-sense level as her sister, my middle child. Yet she has slightly more common-sense than her other sister, my oldest child. Through no fault of her own, she came into this world with great difficulty. This caused the need for years of speech therapy. Remarkably, she worked through any challenges that presented themselves. Now she’s all grown up as well and is a very gifted elementary school teacher.

I mention my girls because among these three children of mine lies a cornerstone. You see, my oldest isn’t the one you want having your back when there’s a medical crisis—especially if it involves one of the family. My youngest is a crier so we know she’s no good either. That leaves my middle daughter—the cornerstone. Now I’m not sure if it’s because she’s the common-sense kid or because internally she has more fortitude. But in a crisis, this is the kid you want in your corner. She sits at the foundation and aligns the rest of the building.

            Family

 

The progression of time is amazing, don’t you think? Through every crisis, challenge, happy event, these three have always clung to each other, with that middle kid as the cornerstone. Collectively, however, to my joy, they choose Christ as the ultimate cornerstone.

As parents, we strive to help our kids understand the importance of being true to the values we’ve set before them as God sets before us. Seeing ourselves as God sees us and then seeing the world as God would like us to see it, having Christ as the cornerstone makes all the difference. We are God’s own people when Christ is our cornerstone. Putting Christ in that position allows us to understand God’s love for us and how precious we are to Him.

            Why are we here? The answer is to tell others about God’s grace. Who do we say is the Lord of our lives? If Christ is the cornerstone, everything is in alignment in our lives. With a cornerstone, the foundation can’t help but be strong.

            Now it’s time to hear from you. What are your thoughts about cornerstones? Do you see Christ as yours?

And that’s what I learned in Church……see ya next time!