1 Peter 2:4
“And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God,”
When we come to Christ who is it that we are choosing? He is God, the Son. He is the creator (Colossians 1:16). He also holds all things together and keeps all the forces of the universes and life going (Colossians 1:17). He did all sorts of miracles on earth. It was a small fraction of what He could have done. He came as a sacrifice for sins. He almost saw the miracles as a distraction. He often told people to “not tell anyone” (Mark 1:44). His great love couldn’t keep Him from helping people. It’s almost as if His love and power leaked out. He is all powerful and all loving.
All of the attributes that are ascribed to God, the Father, also belong to God, the Son. Here are some of them: all knowing, all wise, just, merciful, and so on. I think of the fruit of the Spirit in Galations 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.…” He is all of those and more.
Why is He rejected by men? When we see His ministry on earth, He was rejected by the religious leaders and much of the people (Matthew 7:13,14). Luke 10:16 says that they are rejecting God, “The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”
We can learn from the first fall? Not with Adam and Eve, but with Lucifer. He was once an angel of high rank. However, he wanted more. Isaiah 14:14 gives part of his reason, ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ It’s almost as if he wanted to take God’s place. His rebellion led a third of angels. They were kicked out of heaven and became the devil and his demons (Revelations 12:3-9). This is a highly dramatic tale. How do we learn of the rejection of God from it? Just as Lucifer wanted to be in charge, so do we want to be in charge of our own lives. It comes down to that. We want self rule.
When we come to Christ, we must accept Him as lord and saviour. We like the savior part, but the “lord” role is a lifelong choice. We initially bow the knee and accept it and from it we are born again. But it confronts us all day long. These choices may be played out in social pressures, moral choices and so on. But it comes down to obedience. While I love Frank Sinatra, his song “My Way” drips of the arrogance against God. While I admire determination, we are to say with Jesus, “not my will, but thine be done” (Luke 22:42).
Lord, thank You that You want to be integrally part of our lives. Help us to choose You in our daily lives.
Lord, thank You that You want to be integrally part of our lives. Help us to choose You in our daily lives.