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As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”

In construction, everything rises or collapses on the first stone. Set that stone wrong and the whole structure tilts. Walls crack. The building falls. But set it right and every wall lines up and the whole building stands.

The Bible says that, spiritually, that stone is Jesus Christ. It might surprise us when we stop and think about it. When Jesus came, people did not honor him. They did not welcome him. They rejected him and pushed him aside. In the end, they nailed him to a cross.

The spiritual leaders of Jesus’ day looked at the stone and threw it away. But God took that rejected stone and made it the cornerstone. God built his saving plan on the very one the world cast aside.

Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, God builds his church—not a building of brick and stone, but a people joined together by faith in Christ, the Cornerstone. Now this promise includes us.

The apostle Peter says that those who trust in Christ are like living stones. They are not like rubble or leftovers; each stone is placed in its proper position by the master builder. He builds each one into the structure he is raising—his church.

And Peter gives this promise that holds it all together: Whoever trusts in Christ will never be put to shame. The cornerstone holds. So those who rest on him stand secure.

Lord Jesus, you are the cornerstone of my life. Keep my faith firmly built on you and help me live as part of your people. Amen.

Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.