Living Stones

In the New Testament, there are many references to the body of Christ. Peter, however, brings new insight into just how this body of believers should look and function by introducing a different analogy. In the book of 1st Peter, Chapter 2, beginning in verse 5, he calls us “living stones”. Every believer is to “come…and be built into a spiritual house, for a holy (dedicated, consecrated) priesthood, to offer up [those] spiritual sacrifices [that are] acceptable and pleasing to God through Jesus Christ” (Amplified Bible). In this same chapter, Jesus Christ is referred to as a “Living Stone” and a “chief Cornerstone”(v. 5-6). Hegoes before us and shows us how to be what God wants us to be: Living Stones. And as always, Christ is not just an example, but also our foundation, the main Cornerstone (v. 7).


As stones, we stand beside one another to create one unified wall of the sanctuary that is the body of Christ, the body of believers. We are under, over, behind, in front of, and next to each other for protection and support. Other than Christ, our Cornerstone, no one stone is any more important than any of the other stones in the wall. Each has a role to play in creating that special, holy, spiritual place that we have when we come together for obedient and loving worship, service, and ministry (Eph. 2:5-7). It is a place that only exists among true believers who are all trusting only in Jesus Christ as Savior and living with Him daily as their Lord. In this spiritual place of unity, we see the life change and growth that come from each person presenting himself and herself to God as living sacrifices (Rom. 12:1-2). One thing of particular interest in the 2nd chapter of 1stPeter is the dual role we have been given. Not only are we the stones that come together to create a building where sacrifices are offered to God, but we are also the priests who offer those sacrifices (v. 2 and 2 Cor. 5:17-18).


If you think generally about what a living stone or a wall of living stones might be like, there really is no earthly comparison, but thanks to the prevalence of computer animation in our culture, we can easily imagine it: the wall looks like a normal stone wall except that there are no mosses or weeds growing on or between the rocks. Being a living wall, the give and take between stones prevents the weeds (strife) that often come between normal dead (inanimate) stones and there is too much activity on and within each stone for moss and fungus (apathy, self-absorption) to get a foothold. If you watch from afar, you can see that the wall doesn’t stay in one place but moves as needed to gain more stones (believers). In this way, the wall is always growing because the number of stones is always increasing. Also, faces appear on each stone when it is that stone’s turn to take a lead role and then the faces disappear once that particular assignment has been fulfilled. In addition, the wall is fluid because the stones, in turn, move to the center of the sanctuary to either receive ministry from the other stones, or to minister to the other stones that are present. Everyone takes a turn in both roles (1 Cor. 12).


Taken altogether, this is a powerful image that should lead each of us to ask the following questions: Am I truly offering myself to God as a living sacrifice? Are there weeds that need to be pulled or moss that needs to be scrubbed off? Am I fulfilling the role that He has for me in the wall, the church, the world?

-Jenny Greene