Stumbling or Stepping Stone

1 Peter 2:1–10 NRSV

Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture: “See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner,” and “A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Having three children, I am getting to see our lifecycle from the beginning. We all have experienced it ourselves but its not until you become a parent that you actual get to witness the beginning of the lifecycle. To watch your child be born then slowly grow and mature. You get to see all the growth steps that they take from the moment that you find out you are going to have a child. In order to make all these growth steps your child needs a foundation for good health and growth.

As parents, we are provide our children building blocks to grow and become a responsible adult. It starts with milk or formula before moving to other foods. Then you watch your child start to roll around, crawl, then walk. It is a joy to get to witness this and to participate in their growth. We provide the stepping stones of growth as parents.

This is similar to what Peter is talking about in this scripture today. Peter uses an idea of a newborn infant because the idea is something all of us understand. A child will understand the importance of milk in their life because their parents have taught them the importance of milk for good health. You probably understood what Peter was saying prior to me even talking about it. We know the importance of the building blocks in life. But they also apply to our spiritual life too.

Some of us have fully experienced the idea of spiritual milk as we stepped away and wandered in the wilderness. When we came back we returned to the scripture to find the spiritual milk to begin our growth as disciples again. We need the scripture as the spiritual milk in our life to help us grow as disciples and to create a building block that is strong for the future when we face opposition to our beliefs.

What does Peter mean though when he talks about the capstone and cornerstone along with being built into a spiritual house? This translation does not say capstone but the phrase head of the corner is the same. To gain the a better understanding of what Peter is talking about here you must first understand what a capstone and cornerstone is within construction. Let’s start with the cornerstone. What is a cornerstone? It is typically the first stone laid when putting up a building. It is the stone that the rest of the building rests on. This stone must be set stably. Some would be considered this stone to be the strongest and most important stone ever.

The capstone is one of the final stones to be put on the building. This stone is put on as the top of the building. The capstone is put on top to protect all the stones below. It covers up the unfinished tops of the stones below it. Sometimes the capstone is a decorative piece used bring beauty to a building. It is a protective stone.

This stone that Peter talks about comes from an Old Testament reference to Jesus. We know that Jesus was the cornerstone of what we call Christianity today. He laid out the path of salvation for each of us by offering the love that God has offered all of us individually. He was rejected by the Jewish people of his time and yet he became a solid foundation for the church universal to be built and to grow from. Christ is the beginning building block for growth as a Christian. Scripture is the milk but Christ is the firm foundation. He is who we turn to in order to see what a Christian life should be. His life is an example of for us to follow and form our lives after.

Christ is also the capstone of our lives. He is the one that salvation is possible through. Christ is who we believe in as the Savior. Through him we are made whole, we are completed. Christ is the final stone in our spiritual house. The house built on the foundation of Christ filled with scripture and capped by the salvation offered through Jesus.

But, we must be careful. As Wesleyans we do not believe in a once saved always saved theology. No, we believe we can back slide during our journey. In fact, Wesley had a way to salvation. Wesley believed it was a process in order to gain salvation. First part of the process is Prevenient Grace, God’s grace that we do nothing to receive. It is the grace that goes before us. Then comes conviction and awareness of sin in our lives. Followed by repentance and turning away from sin. Then comes the process of conversion where we react to God’s justifying grace. In this part of the process we are regenerated or born again, adopted into the family of Christ, and initial sanctification. Then we turn from our old ways to God’s way. God’s will becomes our will. Then the fruit of the Spirit is seen in us. Then we reach Christian Perfection, which means love pushes sin out and we reflect the image of God that we were made in, that is love, back on and into the world. After this we continue on in grace.

At any point in this process we can backslide. We can move back a step or two in the process. This can happen because we fall away from God, commit sins, or do not keep up with our spiritual disciplines. Even when you backslide you can work you through the process again. It is a cycle that does end until we die. If you think about this process it is stepping stones on the way to Christian Perfection, which does not mean we are perfect but that we reflect God’s image of love. If the process is stepping stones then backsliding comes from stumbling on the stones.

We see this backsliding a lot. In fact, I think Peter is really talking about this here especially in verse one where he says. “Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander.” An infant would not have this issue. Knowing that Peter is writing to believers, we can say that some of them might be struggling with these issues and he is encouraging them to return to the process and work toward Christian Perfection.

We have seen people who have backslid. We look at them and say, you used to be a person of faith but what has happened. We see them saying bad things about people. We see them around us having racist thoughts and feelings. At one point they were the one who you thought was on the way to salvation but you question what has happened. Why have they lost their way? Some of them were even leaders within the church. Some of them still are leaders in their church.

But, Peter words are encouragement to us to talk with the people who we know have backslid. Peter words call you to encourage these people so that they can find the spiritual milk again. We are called not to talk about them but to build them up in the name of Christ. Part of our journey is to learn to use words of love, peace, justice, and redemption. Using words that reflect these ideas allows us to show the love of Christ to them. These ideas remind them of the process they were on and the direction they were headed. The challenge today friends, is to continue on our journey growing ever closer to Christian Perfection while reaching out to those who have fallen off the path to Christian Perfection. I am continually working on this and hope you will join me in growing together as disciples of Christ.