1 Peter 2:7 “Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,'”
Jesus is the centerpiece of God’s plan. However, the experts of the day rejected and pressured to have Him killed. The bible uses the analogy of builders and building material. God sent Jesus to be the chief stone in which the entire structure was to be built around. Yet, when it showed up. The builders looked at it and said to send it back.
These experts were the religious leaders. They were very powerful with the people and were influential with the roman rulers. Jesus healed a blind man. It was done in a way that offended these leaders. The healed man and his parents were brought before these leaders. The parents were afraid to answer truthfully, for fear of offending them. — Here their son’s sight had been restored from a lifetime of blindness. They couldn’t boldly acknowledge this wonderful news.
Why are we afraid to go against “the experts”? The family of the blind man was probably afraid of being banned from the local synagogue. Most likely all their friends went there. Their social structure included this. They would lose friends, if removed. This social structure also may be made up of the customers in which their business relied. To be removed may mean financial ruin. The people may be told to stay away from their business.
These experts also tend to influence the culture. When I think of culture I think of the phrase, “Everyone’s doing it.” We feel the pressure. Culture dictates fashion trends, entertainment, popular thought, and so on. When we don’t participate in culture, we feel left out. To accept Christ goes against popular wisdom. He represents creationism, present thought says evolution is the enlightened way. The bible says all things are good for food, the –sheik– don’t eat meat. The bible says man has dominion over the earth and may use it’s resources, pop culture says man is destroying the earth. Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the father, but though me”, (John 14:6), culture says there are many legitimate religions. The bible says, one man one woman, the culture says we can love anyone.
My social journey. We may have our social life altered. I changed mine at coming to Christ. I brought some with me, but I needed to invest in my new direction. I have since restored those relationships. We talk and see each other a couple of times per year. At the start, I needed to line up my life in obedience to the bible. I felt uncomfortable doing this with my peers. The Lord will direct people individually as to how they manage their social circles.
Coming to Christ is counter culture. As described a couple of paragraphs back, Jesus’ ways often lead us away from culture. This takes some courage. We like to belong, yet following Christ often pulls us in different directions. The culture shames and ridicules those that are different. They love to point out extreme cases and label all christians with them.
Lord, Your Son was rejected. We also will feel those pains. Help us to stay true to You. Provide for us in business and socially. Help us to not be afraid to be different.