1 Peter 2:7-10

1 Peter 2:7-10

Therefore the honor is to you, the ones who believe.  And to the ones who do not believe, “A stone that the ones who build did not regard as worthy, this one became the cornerstone” and “a stone of stumbling and a rock of scandal.”  The ones who disobey stumble by the Word into that which He also set up.  But you all are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people into possession so that you all should proclaim outward the excellent virtue of the one who called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.  You who were formerly not a people but now are a people of God, the ones who were not having received mercy but now the ones who have received mercy.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Peter gives us two really good quotes about Christ in this passage.  First of all, Christ was rejected.  People just don’t put much value into Christ.  People often do not regard Him as anything worthy.  This was true of many of the Jews of His day and it is true of much of the world today.  Christ has been largely rejected by much of humanity.  The second quote explains the rejection.  He brought about scandal and stumbling.  He Himself was not scandal and stumbling, but the world is often scandalized by those who follow Him.  Look around you for a second.  Ever notice how many people just don’t understand how to put other people ahead of themselves?  Try driving down a busy road with a safe distance between you and the car ahead of you.  You can’t, because people in the next lane over will always take advantage of that space you are leaving to keep everyone safe!  Try going shopping when there are a bunch of people around and see how you feel if you always wait until the path is clear before getting what you want.  Try engaging in a conversation and see how much talking you do if you intentionally choose to not speak until the other people in the conversation aren’t speaking any more.  The reality is that human nature doesn’t understand the choice to consistently put another person ahead of themselves.  It is a scandal to us.  In the same way, why Christ would choose the cross and embrace death is a scandal.  Human nature readily rebels at the idea of self-sacrifice for the good of another.  Yes, there are inspiring examples of people in history who were self-sacrificial.  But in reality it is not the norm for human existence in our day-to-day living.  That is why it is a scandal and a stone of stumbling.

Do you always enjoy the call to be self-sacrificial?  Where is that most difficult for you?

Second Thought:

Notice a very subtle detail that in what Peter says in 1 Peter 2:8.  The ones who disobey stumble.  Our disobedience is the cause of our stumbling.  We don’t stumble first and then fall into disobedience.  We stumble because we aren’t willing to walk in God’s ways in the first place!  We stumble because of our nature!  I don’t stumble into being a sinner, I stumble because I am a sinner!  So often we like to justify our sin by saying, “It’s not wrong because that’s just who I am.”  That logic is never right.  The truth is that my nature is disobedient and it is because of that nature that I struggle and stumble in this world.

Where does your nature cause you the most issue?  How do you manage your stumbling in order to stay in the light of Christ? 

Third Thought:

Peter ends this passage with two really great comparisons.  Those who are in Christ were not a people, but now we are the people of God.  In other words, before Christ we had nothing to bind us together.  We could fight over things like race or ethnicity because that is what defined us.  But if we are in Christ, Christ should bind us together.  So when something that might divide us – such as race, ethnicity, wealth, social status – comes up against religion then religion should trump everything else!  Unfortunately in the modern world, I think we need to work on that some more.  Furthermore, Peter reminds us that we were once a people who had not received mercy but now we are a people who have received mercy.  Again we realize that our status is a gift.  God imparts mercy upon us.  This is why we should get along with our brothers and sisters in Christ.  It’s not like any of us have any reason to brag about how we earned our status in Christ!  We all are in Christ because of God’s mercy!

When you look at people around you, do you evaluate them on their faith most importantly?  Is this true even when you don’t get your way, you get cut off on the highway, you get a nasty email or text, or some other difficult situation?

Passage for Tomorrow: 1 Peter 2:11-12