Chosen, Shaped, Crafted
Opening Prayer
Lord, open me up today to new possibilities for growth and service. Help me not to close down or close in.
Read 1 Peter 2:4-10
[4]
Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
In what dark rooms of your life has God turned on the light (9b)?
Think Further
Peter’s image of “living stones” (4) has always resounded powerfully with me. I was brought up in an old stone house in Yorkshire and my father was a stonemason. Watching him observe the stones, then handle them, I became aware of how different they were from each other. They seemed to have personalities of their own. As my father dressed them, chipping away their imperfections, patiently shaping them to fit alongside each other, I experienced the awe of a building slowly coming to life.
Peter sees us as living stones, crafted and worked on by the Master Builder so that together we will grow into a powerful spiritual house. We all need to be cleaned and shaped, to have our sharp edges smoothed so that we fit together. As God shapes us, we take our place around Jesus, the Cornerstone. Jesus becomes a problem for those who rejected him, but for us, he is the one who gives the house its identity and holds everything together (Col. 1:15-20). If this picture of the church doesn’t seem to apply to your own, you may have some praying to do!
As “living stones” we are changed and reshaped people. Peter’s readers had a new status as believers. Gentiles were not seen as people of God, but through faith in Christ this is what they became. The other metaphors Peter uses–“chosen people,” “royal priesthood” and “holy nation” (9)–denote God’s full acceptance of them–and also of us. These descriptions break down the divide between sacred and secular, affirming all of Christ’s followers as holy and priestly before God. These titles also bring challenges, however, to let God’s grace and mercy be seen in our relations within the church and our own daily lives. It’s the only way that people will know that our praise of God is truly authentic.
Apply
How do you respond to Peter’s description of you (and other Christians) in verse 9a?
Closing prayer
Spirit of the Living God, lift me, clean me, shape me, sculpt me, so that I fit more effectively into your spiritual building.
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Encounter with God is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.