Do you ever wish that you had a firmer foundation to build your life upon? Well this article explains how Jesus is our Cornerstone offering stability and guidance to our lives.
Before the modern days we live in and in biblical times, when stone masons were constructing buildings, they had to provide a firm foundation. No stone was more important than the cornerstone because the integrity of the whole structure depended on it containing exactly the right lines.
If the cornerstone was not perfect for the job, the entire building would be out of line. So, the masons examined and rejected many stones before selecting the perfect cornerstone that they knew would bear the whole weight of the building.
Psalm 118 prophesies the coming of the most significant cornerstone ever known, Jesus, the cornerstone of the entire world, of the whole universe.
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; Psalm 118:22 NIV
Do you have a cornerstone in your life?
Perhaps it’s your husband or wife – mother or father – a brother or sister, or a great friend. Most of us have someone we know we can rely on when everything has gone wrong – someone able to get us back on the right track?
But, in these strange times of fear and uncertainty, it’s good to remember that in addition to our mortal companions, Jesus, a holy cornerstone, is there to support us.
I have firmly believed from a child that God was love. This belief gets ever stronger, particularly during times of struggle.
In 1 John, we can read:
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18 NIV
The word ‘perfect’ here means complete, mature, of full age.
Who has the most mature, complete and fulfilled love?
Well, God our Father, of course!
His love for us is the most vital power in existence.
As I have grown older and wiser, I have come to realise that once we recognise and understand that God is with us and acts for us, then we begin to be able to let go of fear.
The more mature we become in our spiritual life, the recognition of His love grows within us. With this comes a state in which we have less fear simply because we begin to understand how his love for us is greater than anything we might fear.
I don’t say this out of naivety but from personal experience.
Because rather than look in despair at the world, I choose to look instead towards our Heavenly Father and the teachings of Jesus. I prefer to live in the hope of what we have been promised – peace and everlasting life.
Jesus told us he is the way, the truth and the life. His love and strength are our holy cornerstones, particularly in times of fear and uncertainty.
Christ Our Cornerstone
St Paul wrote a letter to the new Christians in the city of Ephesia, telling them that they now had Jesus as their cornerstone. He said;
Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Ephesians 2:19-22 NIV
