God's Rocks

Recently my husband and I were in our family room reading our Bibles, all warm and cozy from the heat generated by our fireplace.  As I read 1 Peter chapter 2, his "living stone" metaphor took on a whole new meaning for me.  Here's what Peter says,
 
^"As you come to him, the living Stone-rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him- you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: 'See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.' Now to you who believe, this stone is precious."
 
Christ is called the "living Stone," the "precious cornerstone."  He is the foundation of the Church.  To quote my pastor, Tom Sabens, "Jesus is the rock on which God's spiritual house will be built square, solid and secure." 
 
"But to those who do not believe, 'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,^' and,  'A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.' They stumble because they disobey the message-which is also what they were destined for" (1 Peter 2:4-8).
 
As I mulled over Peter's metaphor my eyes fell on our recently installed river rock fireplace.  (It not only keeps us warm, it's absolutely striking!)  My husband and I were nearby during all phases of construction.  First Pete, the stonemason (not to be confused with the apostle) built a wooden form.  After the gas stove was on the hearth, Pete smeared cement inside the form.  The next phase was a slow painstaking process.  To avoid creating a design he carefully chose where to place each rock.  According to our expert, the mistake do-it-yourselfers make is placing rocks and colors in a way that creates a design, which spoils the look.  Which is why Pete took his time placing each stone inside the form. 
 
Peter's wonderful metaphor portrays Christians as living stones.  Like Pete, the earthy stonemason, the Great Stonemason carefully chooses each stone then places it in a spot that will

                 
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