Salvation Through Standing

"Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being build together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His spirit." 
Ephesians 2:19-22

This past summer I had the honor of working as a camp counselor and encouraging young people in their faith. The very first day of camp we learned how Jesus is our cornerstone. Upon Him, everything is created, everything has purpose, everything points to the empty tomb. 

It’s an easy concept to understand - Jesus is the cornerstone. He is the missing piece of so many lives. He fulfills our need of everlasting love and forgiveness. He demolishes our deserved destiny of damnation. He offers life eternally. 

But what does it mean to have Jesus as a cornerstone in our personal living and in the life of the church? 

What does it look like to live out this beautiful truth? 

To answer these questions, we need to first ask ourselves - do we stand on this Cornerstone or stare at it?

Jesus, the cornerstone, is full of beauty and grace. He deserves our attention. However, we aren’t allowing Him to fulfill His purpose as the cornerstone, if we only stare and don’t stand. Jesus is the cornerstone - He invites us to freely live upon His saving grace. He invites us to live our life, our messes and triumphs, on the His truth, His love, His redeeming power. All aspects of our life can be seen through the eyes of His love and grace when we stand upon the Cornerstone. Times of depression and grief shine light on His compassion and mercy when we stand on the Cornerstone. Times of accomplishment and joy are seen with gratitude and praise when we stand on the Cornerstone. Relationships, work, travels, hardships, miracles, creation, music are all enhanced and glorified when we stand and see the world from the Cornerstone. 

If we stare at the Cornerstone, we aren’t living in His grace. There is no trust when we stare, rather than stand. We can acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the cornerstone, but by refusing to stand on the Cornerstone, we fail to fulfill our duty as Christians. It is Christ’s duty to save. It is our duty to live freely in His salvation. If we continue to stare long enough, it’s easy to take on the responsibility as the Cornerstone. I know this sounds extreme - but I have seen it one too many times in the daily interactions of fellow believers. They believe it’s their responsibility to save - to preach the Gospel in every conversation they have whether it’s welcomed or not. To ask those life-altering questions before a friendship has developed. Putting pressure on a conversation, hoping their words will convince the others otherwise. Now it is our Christian duty to proclaim the love of Christ, but it is not our Christian duty to save. When we stand on the Cornerstone we allow Christ to save - we trust Christ to save and intervene through our daily living. We allow Christ to work in our daily living to proclaim His love. As sinners, we are not capable of offering eternal life. Jesus, is the only one capable of offering the gift of eternal life. He works through our words, our actions, our thoughts, our dreams, our living to offer this gift of salvation to others. When we stand on the Cornerstone, we are giving Christ the power to save and fulfilling our responsibility to live freely in a life of forgiveness and redemption. 

“The Christian shoemaker does his duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes…” 
-Martin Luther

Do you trust in His ability to save others through your daily living rather than through your attempt of saving? Trust in His plan of salvation. Trust in the Cornerstone by standing, rather than staring. 

When we stand, the world becomes a glorious place filled with glimpses of His mercies and beauty.
When we stand, we trust that God is seeking every single heart to acknowledge the gift of redemption He has to offer. 
When we stand, we allow His grace to turn our daily living into a testament of His love. 
When we stand on the Cornerstone we live freely in His forgiveness and grace.