Devotion for March 17, 2016

Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’” (Luke 20:17; NIV)?

            A common theme through Luke’s Gospel is the way that Israel rejected the Lord’s messengers, always favoring her own rather selfish understanding of what God wanted. In that way, ancient Israel was not so different than we moderns. After all, how often do we hear someone (and even ourselves) saying things that presume God’s desires are exactly the same as what we desire? When we say or think that, we have two choices: we can acknowledge that we’re recasting God in our own image, or we have to imagine that we have an extraordinary maturity in the faith that allows us to see the things of God clearly. (The former seems more likely.)

            I was having this conversation just this week with my confirmation class. God has given us His Word; He’s told us what we need to know. It’s our task to make sure that all of our thoughts and beliefs conform to what He actually said. If ever we let our thoughts shape what the Scriptures say instead of the other way around, we are in danger of rejecting the stone that is actually the very cornerstone.