How to show others the firm footing that keeps us from falling
By Dean Collins
I don’t know about you, but I occasionally trip when I’m walking. Sometimes it might happen when there doesn’t appear to be anything to trip over, but more often it happens when I fail to see something that is on the ground in front of me. I may trip in full daylight, but it’s more likely at night. I am very thankful for the flashlight on my phone!
Sometimes when I trip it’s just a careless moment, and I immediately regain my balance and continue walking while hoping no one saw me. But if I don’t pay attention, and especially if I am in the darkness, my trip can result in a fall. And falls have been known to be fatal.
Fall or foundation?
According to Peter and before him Isaiah, we can either trip over Jesus or build our lives on him. As we each build our lives upon the living stone of Jesus, we become a spiritual framework that God uses in expanding his kingdom. The key to this ever-expanding and eternally focused house is that all of us miraculously have access to the same cornerstone and foundation. In fact, if we don’t use Jesus as the cornerstone of our life, then we have no way of participating in his kingdom expansion now or in the future. Only a life built on the foundation of Jesus can withstand the troubles and attacks that come in this world. And only a life with Jesus as the cornerstone will be a part of a glorious and eternal future.
In the Old Testament Scriptures we see Solomon’s temple built and eventually destroyed by the Babylonians. Nehemiah and others worked diligently to rebuild the temple, but centuries later Jesus told his disciples it would once again be destroyed. According to historians, the temple came to its end in AD 70. I guess the one who was with God in the beginning actually does know when and how things take place and will resolve.
Sand or solid rock?
All over the world, the spiritual house of Jesus continues to introduce others to a building block not just for now but for eternity. Maybe even today God wants to use you to show someone who keeps tripping over Jesus that it’s actually possible to stand on him as a solid foundation and never be tripped up again. How many people in our path today are building their lives on sand when the solid rock is available? And maybe all it takes is for you and me to let someone see the one named Jesus who has changed our lives.
Sure, there will be days and times people will ignore or even be offended by Jesus. But our love for others expressed every day may be the very thing that secures the foundation of life for someone in need today.
Your time with God’s Word
1 Peter 2:4-8; Isaiah 28:16; Luke 21:5-9 ESV
Photo by Jordan Whitt on Unsplash
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