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THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE CHURCH!
A week ago Friday I had to do something about
the missing tiles on the edge of our roof line just above the front door. I
had to do something for two very good reasons. First, the large
mesquite tree that hid the problem from view, and to some extent created the
problem, would be gone by early afternoon. With its removal, the roof
line of our home would look like a hockey player's grin with three of his upper
teeth missing. Second, and more importantly, rain was forecast
for Sunday and Linda was very concerned about the exposed edge of our roof
being damaged by water.
Personally, I had postponed dealing with this
problem for the last few months for I had no idea of where to find matching
tile and neither did the yellow pages. But on that morning I had to do
something. So I picked up the phone and out of the blue called Staco
Roof Tile Mfg. and poured out my woes to the receptionist.
She told me that they would be of no help but
suggested that I go to a tile bone yard. Having combed through the yellow
pages I knew there was no mention of a tile bone yard in the roofing section. So
I asked her if she knew whether one was located on the east side of the valley.
I fully expected her to say "no." However,
she knew of two such places but they were both in Phoenix. I asked if
she happened to have their phone numbers, again expecting a "no." Once
again I was wrong, she had all the information she needed in her computer and
gladly gave me the address and phone number of both places. One is at
19th Ave and Grant. The other is at 53rd Ave. and Missouri.
So I called both places and was told the same
thing, "Yes, they had a tile bone yard but I would have to wander through
it on my own looking for what I needed. That sounded to me like wandering
through a grave yard looking for a particular head stone. In other words,
it sounded like this could take all day with no guarantee of actually finding
what I needed to repair my roof.
I had no choice. For it may be better
to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with an anxious wife but
not when it's raining. So I drove to the Roofing Wholesale Company on
19th Ave. and Grant. It turned out to cover an entire square block
on both sides of Grant Avenue. It was a big place with little hope of
finding what I needed to save my home sweet home.1
Nevertheless, I walked up to the counter and
showed the man what I needed. To my surprise he said he had what I needed
but it was not the same color. He then told me that if I went outside
and waited my turn one of the workers would show me where it was located. Sure
enough, within ten minutes a worker pulled up in a golf cart and told me to
hop in and before too long we were sailing through the bone yard as if the
guy knew exactly where to find the needed tiles.
When we pulled up to the pile, the first thing
that hit me was that the guy inside was right - they weren't the right color. I
was looking for a coral pink/tan and these tiles were a vomit green. It
was the right tile, long sense discontinued, but they were a vomit green. I
hesitated, thinking that Linda would wonder why in the world I bought
vomit green tiles. But then the guy said, you could go to Home Depot
and get some paint. So I made up my mind and gathered up six tiles which
cost me about $16.00.
I then went to Home Depot and showed the guy
the original tile and the vomit- green tile. I explained that I wanted
to make the vomit-green tile look like the salmon- colored Tile. He looked
at the original and asked me what color I wanted for he could see about six
different colors in it.
I told him I wanted paint that gave me the salmon
color with flecks of red and tan randomly scattered throughout the tile. I
told him that their TV commercials assured me it was possible to match the
original color. He gave me this annoyed look and we quickly settled on
one color.
I grabbed the paint, after paying for it, went
home, painted the vomit-green tiles, and two hours later repaired the roof. It
was a surprising day, one that I will not soon forget and neither should you.
It's a day to be remembered for the tile that
was found in the bone yard, the worthless tile, the rejected tile, was used
to restore the integrity of that which was damaged beyond repair. Simultaneously
it restored harmony within the home.
With this in mind, read I Peter 2:4 - 10. It
reads:
As you come to him, the living Stone-rejected
by men but chosen by God and precious to him- 5 you also, like living
stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in
Scripture it says:
"See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the
one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
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 capstone,"
8 and,
"A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall."
They stumble because they disobey the message-which is also what they were
destined for.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises
of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once
you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not
received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
In the first chapter of this letter, through
v. 12, Peter praised God for the wonder of his salvation through Jesus Christ. Then
in vv. 13 - 21 he challenged us, and encouraged us, to live holy lives in reverent
fear. Next, through v. 4 of chapter 2, he told us that we were to love
one another deeply.
To do so we are to do two things. First,
we are to rid ourselves of those behaviors that poison every relationship worth
keeping, and most of them are worth keeping. We are to make a clean sweep
of malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander.
Second, we are to maintain our own spiritual
well-being. After all, if we're down, we can't lift others up. It
is for this reason that Peter encourages us to "crave pure spiritual milk." If
we are to love deeply, we need to be hooked on the Word.2
So here is the flow of Peter's thinking. He
initially addressed each one of us as if we were the only person in the world
that was ever saved by God's wonderful grace. He then spoke of our need
to love one another deeply knowing full well that there are others who have
also been redeemed and at times are hard to love superficially!3
Now, beginning in v. 4 of the second chapter
he looks at us as a corporate body. That is, he speaks to us as a group. In
evangelical churches, such as ours, the emphasis is normally on the individual;
our conversion as well as our growth in Christ. Rarely, in official Statements
of Faith is much said about the church other than that it is a group of voluntarily
like-minded individuals. But here in vv. 4 - 10 we are shown the central
role of Jesus in regards to the church, the priestly character of the church,
and the corporate nature of the church.
To appreciate Jesus' role, to understand his
central position, we need to note that there are various Greek words for "stone." The
one used here in v. 4, lithos, means a piece of stone that has been hewn into
shape for use in building as opposed to an irregular lump or a boulder. You'll
note that this "stone" was rejected by men.
The religious rulers took one look at it and
quickly discounted it. The color wasn't right; it didn't live up to their
expectations. Furthermore, as far as they were concerned, the entire
architectural design of the stone was ill-conceived.
Hence, the wheelers and dealers of Israel cast it
into the bone yard as being unfit for the task. They considered it worthless,
hopelessly out of tune with what the nation really needed. But they were
wrong, for the stone in question had been approved by the architect. It
would be taken, and has been taken, out of the bone yard and given new life
as the resurrected Christ.
As such, it is not merely a part of the building,
it is the foundation stone - the cornerstone. If others stones are going
to fit properly, they need to be in line with this stone. Peter tells
us that it is the living Stone, chosen by God and precious to him.4
Now comes the main point, when we come to faith
in Christ we are built into the walls of this building of which Christ is the
foundation stone. We as a corporate body form a spiritual house. Clearly,
this means that solitude is ruled out.
You may remember that I purchased six tiles
but I only used three of them. That means, the other three are simply
laying out of sight for future repair work.
Now here is the sad part of the story, as long
as a tile lies by itself it is useless. It only becomes useful when
it becomes part of a house or a building. That is why it was made; when
it is built into a building it discovers its function and the reason for its
existence. Just so with you and me, to discover what God created us for,
to discover how we are gifted, we need to be a participative member of a local
church. We need to be built into the fabric and edifice of the Church.
This house that we call the church may be thought
of as simply a place where a family worships together. But it is also
the place where we serve together. For in this house we each have our
job to do as assigned to us by the Spirit of God and we have an obligation
to love one another deeply.
However, Peter probably has a temple in mind
more so than an ordinary house. A temple, as understood by Peter, was
the place where God dwells without being confined to it. Because God
is present, it was the appropriate place for him to communicate to his people
and to receive their gifts, sacrifices, and prayers. His presence made
it holy - a place to be approached with awe and reverence by those who were
themselves made holy and were allowed to be in his presence. So when
we meet together as the church we constitute the temple of God.
Furthermore, we are not simply stones that compose
the building. We are priests who work in it. Our task is to offer
spiritual sacrifices. This means we are to offer our time and giftedness
to be used as the Spirit directs us. Then, after offering ourselves we
are to offer our substance, our tithes and offerings. But more than
all of this we are to offer the sacrifice of praise to our God who has chosen
us to be a holy nation - the new Israel.
1 Proverbs 21:9 reads, "Better
to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife." Linda
was anxious about the roof being damaged by water but we didn't argue about
it. It was something that had to be done, but I wasn't anxious to tackling
the job.
2 In Hebrews 5:12 -13 milk, the elementary truths of God,
is contrasted with "solid food." But, I don't think Peter is
thinking of this contrast when he urges us to crave spiritual milk.
3 It's sobering to realize that after giving us a tough
command Peter says "come" to the church. It is not always an
easy place to be but it is the right place. Come, for this is the
place to sing our praises of this glorious God who comes to us. Come,
for this is the place to grow. In fact, the only way we can grow to
maturity is by growing together.
4 The quotation comes from Psalm 118 where a king goes to
the temple to give thanks for a military victory. It seems that
even among his own people some rejected him and had doubts about his ability
to defeat the enemy. But he did, and in this psalm he rejoices in what
God did for him.PETER: THE MAN AND HIS LETTERS 1/13/08 1
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