by Rev. Aidan Moon

A House of Living Stones

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking this SoundCloud link. 

“As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
– 1 Peter 2:4-5 (English Standard Version)

God is a builder.

I spent some time with a stained glass artist, Joe, in preparation for a piece of art to be installed in our church sanctuary. As I started to learn how to shape and cut the glass, I was reminded just how important crafting something is to being human. I tend to do most of my creative work in my head or on a keyboard these days, so it was a fulfilling experience to craft something tangible, to touch the glass, shaping it to fit the blueprint.

This passage from 1 Peter reminds us that God himself is a builder. Humans come by their desire to make,to build, to shape, quite honestly. We get it from our Maker. We know, of course, that one of God the Father’s definitions is “Creator of heaven and earth” – but this passage shows us that he is still building things. He is shaping us. Jesus has entered into reality, becoming a creature, and as we come to him, God builds us into something amazing – he builds us into a spiritual house. Each of us as we come to God is already his creation – but together we are built up into something so much more. A temple for his presence.

This is what it means to “be church” – that we be shaped by our Creator. Jesus is making something more out of us. We are “living stones,” or as I have begun to see it, as individual panes of glass, that the God of the universe may shine through his church and his presence be known in the world. God is building us into something beautiful.

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado