Thursday, May 30, 2013

The Cornerstone Experience

UV 768/10,000 The Cornerstone Experience Jesus said to them, “ Have you never read in the Scriptures: “ The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this and it is marvellous in our eyes.” Matthew 21 v 42 It is almost an axiom of life that the people should reject the one who is accepted by the Lord God. Rejection precedes acceptance and exaltation. It is this that makes the whole process of acceptance or being lifted up exciting, thrilling and marvellous. God always identifies with the underdog, the weak, the oppressed. Joseph’s brothers, all eleven of them combined against him and treated him as an outcast in the family. They conspired to kill him and then out of some compunction sold him into slavery. But, the Lord raised him up in stages from slave to favourite servant, from prisoner to favoured prisoner, from favoured prisoner to favoured minister of the then superpower of the world, Pharaoh. His brothers had rejected him but the Lord made him the capstone or cornerstone of the administrative edifice of Egypt. His father Jacob, his brothers and he himself marvelled at what the Lord had done. They had disbelieved the dream of Joseph that he had shared with the family as a young lad. The Lord reminds me often how some rich relatives rejected me when I was young, just sixteen but the Lord turned me into the capstone and the same relatives had to approach me for redressing their grievances. The people who do not read the scripture and believe are the ones who reject the capstone. The people who read the scripture and believe the Word of God are the ones who become cornerstones. When we hold the Word as precious in our hearts and minds, the Lord will uphold us in our lives. There is no miracle of transformation without a filling and saturation with the Word even as the jars of water had to be filled with water to the brim before Jesus turned the water into wine at the wedding feast in Canna. Jesus is the chief cornerstone of all of history. We too are declared to be cornerstones. We are described by scripture as “precious cornerstone, living stones, sure foundation and a tried stone.” We are so valuable in the eyes of God that the metaphoric seven eyes of the Lord are upon us all the time. Our faith has the stone-like strength of rock. We are stable and secure in life’s changing scenarios. We have Jesus as a sure foundation. We cannot be shaken. We are tested and tried in all of life’s situations and declared to be faultless or flawless by grace. Like Jesus, we too will be a precious stone for building lives and hope of the people who see us and believe. We will be the stumbling stone or rock of offense for those who do not believe. The Lord revels in making us sit at a feast of His blessings in the presence of our enemies. During the stages of rejection, it is important we hold on to the words of God, to trust that He will do a marvellous thing in due course to bring His Word to pass. It is important that we do not become bitter or indulge in whipping up hatred towards those who so rejected or oppressed or falsely accused us. Once we enter upon the cornerstone phase, we should not recall our experiences with an attitude of bitterness or vindictiveness but with an attitude of awe, thanksgiving and worship towards the Lord. Such an attitude will come only due to the grace of the Lord being poured as a precious anointing oil upon the living stone. Without the grace of God, the Humpty Dumpty law that operates in this world is " the higher you go, the greater the fall." As it is ironically mentioned in the old nursery rhyme, " All the king's horses and all the king's men could not put Humpty together again." It implies that so called modern icons of different domains, be it the arts, entertainment, science, technology,wealth, glamour and so on, will rise to the heights and decline rapidly and disappear as if they never existed in sharp contrast to the cornerstone experience. Prateep V Philip

4 comments:

  1. Beautiful ! Thanks! Sending you a similar post on the ‘Ebenezer Stone’. Your messages give me immense courage like the light at the end of the tunnel.
    Dennis Khan

    ReplyDelete
  2. 'When we hold the Word as precious in our hearts and minds, the Lord will uphold us in our lives.'

    Thanks for the wonderful message and testimony.
    Amitayu Das

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beautifully written!
    Praise God for seeing us through rejections!
    Rejection perhaps is a 'difficult mechanism' that gives time to the 'rejected' to be let alone to serve the Master's call!
    Rejection is a component of fuel for 'Livingstone rockets' moving purposefully at Godspeed! Max-speed!!
    Best wishes
    Yaseva

    ReplyDelete
  4. They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word. Psalm 119:74 I got this in connection with your lines
    " Like Jesus, we too will be a precious stone for building lives and hope of the people who see us and believe." and
    "The people who read the scripture and believe the Word of God are the ones who become cornerstones"
    It is indeed so assuring being a prisoner of hope to read such spiritually uplifting material. Completely enjoyed it.

    ReplyDelete