Advent Flow #5 - NAME OF GOD: Cornerstone

"Therefore the Lord God said:“Look, I have laid a stone in Zion,a tested stone,a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;the one who believes will be unshakable."

-Isaiah 28:16  (HCSB)

NAME OF GOD: Cornerstone

by Joe Emmi

I like how this bible version expresses the last part of this verse -- “unshakable." A friend's daughter came home a bit 'shaken up' recently because her teacher was talking about the mega earthquake that is predicted to hit Portland one day. The scientists say that it is not a matter of if, but when that earthquake will come. Jesus metaphorically told us much the same thing when he forewarned his disciples that, "in this world you will have tribulation" (John 16:33).  And so it is. It seems that life is full of quakes large and small. Relationships, jobs, our health, our state of mind and even the house we live in can seem rock solid one day and be falling apart the next. If you have been a Christian for any length of time, I do not need to tell you that the call to discipleship is not a call to problem free living. However, it is a call to let God build, in and through our lives, something that cannot be shaken because it is built on the Cornerstone, Jesus Christ. 

Look ,I have laid a stone in Zion

Zion is where God rules and is worshiped as king. Throughout scripture God is telling a story of his kingdom and his King, Jesus. All of history is divided in reference to His first coming. History will culminate in His return. He is the stone cut without hands (Daniel 2:24, 44-5) that displaces the empires of this world and becomes the foundation of a new kingdom.  

A tested stone

Jesus was tested in all ways like us, but without sin (Hebrews 4:15).  He was proven on the cross to be the rock of salvation (Psalm 89:26) that could bear the weight of the world. Jesus was tested and found to be unshakable. You and me? Not so much. Being built on Him means trusting in His merit and not our own. It also means relying on His way in the Spirit to lead us forward and not our own plans and desires. 

A precious Cornerstone

It cost God everything to lay this foundation. God has no greater treasure than his Son. That is why He is the Cornerstone of all that God has done and ever will do. Peter says, "to you who believe He is precious" (1 Peter 2:7). There are costs for us too as we enter into a relationship where His light and love can work in and through our lives. But, as that happens, we will see how precious He is and how much better His kingdom is than anything we could build apart from Him.   

A sure foundation

Everyone wants to invest in a sure thing. I know of only one, Jesus. There is no other Rock (Isaiah 44:8). His kingdom is coming. Our verse starts with God saying, "Look"! As if to say, 'See what I am doing; see what I am building. Come, and enter in'. When all the shaking of history is done, and the dust settles nothing else will remain. Only the kingdom family built up by God through his Spirit on the Cornerstone of Jesus Christ will stand. You and I are invited to join Him by yielding ourselves to His purposes now. That is our hope, and that hope is unshakable.

Questions:

What foundation am I resting on today with my words, deeds and priorities?  What can I count on God doing if I rest my life on the Cornerstone? 

Is there a difference between building for God, and letting him build in and through me? 

How does an unshakable future hope help me in my shakable current circumstances?

Pray as you are led...