Architectural masterpieces

1 Corinthians 3:9-14

          Of the countless analogies people use to speak of God, churches and the faithful, I find two rather outstanding, ones that appeal to me. One is the concept of a building. The other is the concept of father and 'son'.

           There are numerous passages that speak about cornerstones and proper foundations.  Christ being the cornerstone. Being the cornerstone that was rejected but yet is the most valuable.  There are passages that speak of the ground or soil in which buildings are built and whether they would last, whether they would pass the test. I would think that anyone who survived Sandy would have an pretty good idea of this analogy.  This concept can be looked at several ways and each is as valuable as the next. Christ is the foundation or cornerstone and we are building His church, the kingdom. Another way of looking at this is that we are the cornerstone. Cornerstones being unique and crucial to the foundation, we are all then cornerstones. It would not be unreasonable for us to think of the times that perhaps we too were rejected. It would be sufficient for us to know that Jesus himself was rejected. Yet, we are building the kingdom of the Father.

            In the concept of father and 'son' then, the idea of cornerstone is still valuable. If we are all children of God, all "sons", that is, sons and daughters of God, then we are all cornerstones of great value. Each requires specific placement and care in the building. Our uniqueness as created by God bears witness to this. If we ourselves are the building, the temples of God, we should be very careful indeed with how we choose to build ourselves up. That goes from the fact that we require or are cornerstones to the fact that we are building a 'temple' that is uniquely us. Each 'temple' of God is reflective of who we are. All are different and all are magnificent. By the end of our lives I'd pray that we are all magnificent cathedrals or  the most perfect chapel of God that he delights in. 

            No matter which analogy you feel works for you, we must take care to know in our heart of hearts that we are all cornerstones, sometimes rejected but all called to be the basis for a glorious architectural masterpiece of God.  

For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward.