Living stones...

I have been reading in 1 Peter lately and turning this idea of being "living stones" over in my head. The passage says that we are living stones, building a spiritual house, with Jesus as the cornerstone. Cool, huh? When I began to get the idea of that picture put together in my mind, I began wondering what a spiritual house meant. I mean, I get the idea of being a living stone. We are the human vessels dedicated, as believers, to be a light to a world swallowed by darkness. The passage even says that we, as living stones, were called out of darkness and into marvelous light. Thus, our calling as living stones is to be a hope for the wandering, a pure example of unconditional love. But...what does this building a spiritual house thing look like? Well, the passage says that as a spiritual house, we are to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices...huh? In our terms, I think I have a few good ideas of what this looks like for our community today. First, I began to think about what a house means to me. To me a house means comfort, hospitality, acceptance, love, family, safety, shelter, coziness...and the list could go on. These are just a few that came to mind. So, I ran with that line of thought. That lead me to thinking of the kind of house we are building here in Boston as a community, a family, of living stones. What are we doing to make people feel safe? How can we be hospitable? Are we opening up our family? Are we providing shelter? Do we make people comfortable? How are we loving others? How are we building off of each other to accomplish these goals? Intriguing... Are we making the necessary sacrifices to build a beacon of love, of hope for the people of Boston? Are we as a family giving our whole hearts to Christ so that we may further his agenda, not ours? Jesus is our cornerstone. Are we using him as a solid base to be carriers of the most important message this city will ever hear? How could we be quiet? I mean, really. Jesus was willing to die to make a spiritual house possible...are we?

In some ways, this may be overwhelming. But, be encouraged. I think this community may be the closest thing have been a part of that would be on track to all of this. Look at the last couple weeks...we have rallied around two families in need and hopefully, made them feel at home away from home with our spiritual house. We try to be involved with our neighbors and peers at any opportunity. We are not a group of people who just sit and talk, but I think a reminding of the great challenge still ahead of us is necessary. We are trying this new thing called family, and I get goose bumps at thinking of the possibilities. The bible says we are to build a spiritual house, and we are trying to grasp the concept of family...crazy, huh? I know we can do great things in this city though him. Be encouraged. Be inspired. Be love. Be on fire for Christ.

I love you all and pray for our family daily. I hope this makes you think and stirs the embers of love I know you all have in your hearts for this city. Turn that into passion, and great things are ahead of us.