Living Stones! In Him the whole building is fitted together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord. — Eph 2:21 The body of Christ is currently scattered and, in a sense, fragmented. We are not yet built into that spiritual house which Jesus described. We are waiting for the glorious day when all the saints will be gathered together! When I was a boy in school in London, Waterloo Bridge was being built. My friends and I would sometimes go to what was called "The Stone Field," on the other side of the river, where the stones for Waterloo Bridge were being shaped and chiseled. The stones we played on as boys are now part of that beautiful bridge, which Canova, the famous Italian sculptor, once said was worth coming to London just to see. Now, think of this in spiritual terms. The Bible compares the body of Christ to a building: "Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ himself as the cornerstone. In Him, the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord." Believers are the "living stones" in this building. Right now, many of them are in "the Stone Field," where they are being shaped and refined. Just like the stones for Solomon's temple were prepared far away, so that no sound of hammering would be heard during construction, these living stones are being prepared for future glory. Day by day, God's tools are at work on them, so that when the time comes, they will fit perfectly into the spiritual building. I remember clearly that all the Waterloo stones scattered across the field were marked and numbered, showing where each one was meant to go. Every stone was eventually moved to the exact place the architect intended. In the same way, every living stone in God's building was marked and chosen in eternity, is being shaped and prepared in time, and will, in future glory, be placed by the hand of the divine Architect into the spot designed for it. Devotional Writings by J.C. Philpot.
|
