By Rev Victor Neill
‘The stone which the builders disallowed (rejected), the same is made the head of the corner’ (1st Peter 2 v 7)
In past times before the advent of bricks, when buildings were built with stone, the most vital part of the building was ‘the corner stone’. All other stones were set in reference to this, determining the position of the entire structure and its stability. So the choosing of ‘the corner stone’ was of the utmost importance - not just any old stone would do, quite probably many would be rejected before one was chosen!
God the Father has chosen Christ to be ‘the Chief Cornerstone’ ‘elect (chosen) precious’ (1st Pet 2 v 6). Indeed there is no one else comparable with Him and He is the foundation on which our salvation rests and upon which the Church is built and which we as individuals are to build our lives upon. The Jews, by and large, rejected the Lord Jesus - but how wrong they were! ‘The stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner’. This quotation from Peter is taken from Ps 118 v 22. Sadly, Judaism closed its eyes to its own Scriptures concerning the Messiah and despite clear evidence that Christ was the promised Messiah, they rejected Him, the Chief Cornerstone. Instead they continued to build their religion on man made rules, for Jesus said of them ‘but in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men’ (Matt 15 v 9).
The religion of Judaism has floundered ever since its rejection of ‘The Chief Cornerstone’ and one day its faulty foundations will utterly crumble. So it is incumbent that we today make sure that we do not build our lives on foundations of our own making, but on ‘The Chief Corner Stone’, the Lord Jesus, making Him the Saviour and Lord of our lives. In times of crisis, when the storms are fierce and the nights are dark and when uncertainty stalks the street, we shall discover if we have built our lives upon Him, then as Isaiah puts it, He will be ‘strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat’ (25 v 4).
A chorus puts it very well:
‘Christ alone; Cornerstone, weak made strong in the Saviour’s love, through the storm He is Lord of all’