Back in the days when the Old West was being settled, there were a lot of
pioneers who made their way over the Oregon trail. When they got to the eastern
slope of the Rocky Mountains, they found a stream a little too wide to cross in
one step. So they "two-stepped" across by using an ugly lump sticking up out of
the water in the middle of the stream.
As the years passed, other pioneers settled in that area, built their cabins,
strung fences and plowed the fields. One man built his cabin near that same
stream. But he had a problem -- his door flapped in the wind. To solve his
problem, he found a heavy lump in the middle of the stream. So he carried it to
his front step and it became a door stop.
More years passed. Railroads were built across the nation, more people pushed
west and modern cities sprang up. A nephew of the old pioneer went east to study
geology at a large university. He returned home during vacation. Lo and behold,
on the front porch of his uncle's cabin by the stream, he found not just an ugly
lump, and not just a heavy lump, but a lump of pure gold, the largest gold
nugget ever discovered on the eastern slopes of the Rockies!
It had been there for three generations, but everybody saw it in a different
light, some as an ugly lump, some as a heavy lump, but only the nephew saw it
for what it really was -- a lump of gold. The same thing is true of Jesus. The
same Jesus whom others have seen as a stumbling rock was actually a very
precious stone -- the chief cornerstone.
The cornerstone was the major structural part of ancient buildings. It had to be
strong enough to support what was built upon it, and it had to be precisely
laid, because every other part of the structure was oriented to it. The
cornerstone was the support, the orienter, and the unifier of the entire
building. That is what Jesus Christ is to God's building, the church. The whole
building ties together because of the cornerstone.
"You are....members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles
and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the
whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the
Lord." (Ephesians 2:19-21)
Alan Smith
alansmith.servant@gmail.com
Fayetteville, North Carolina
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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