“But he [Jesus] looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written:’Thestonethatthebuildersrejectedhasbecomethecornerstone’?” Luke 20:17
The italicized part is hard to read, isn’t it? The words have to be broken apart and separated just right in order to read what is says – The-stone-that-the-builders-rejected-has-become-the-cornerstone
The same is true with our lives. When we give it to Christ, He takes the jumble we have made and breaks it a part so He can then put it back together the right way. Only then do our lives make sense.
Perhaps you have heard people say they have been broken by Christ. Being a Texas gal, I thought of that in the same as you’d break a bucking bronco to accept a bridle and saddle. It was taming my will to be in line with His and letting Him direct my paths. And, yes, that is true.
But, look what the next verse, verse 18 says –
“Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
Humanity has a choice. Choose to fall on Christ and be broken so we can have our lives put back together by the Grace of God, or have His judgment fall on us and be crushed.
Pretty harsh statement. But, because of our sinful and selfish nature, we are out of whack. Like Humpty Dumpty we have broken lives. But instead of admitting we can’t be put back together again by human means, we have tried to piece together our lives-
Thesto nethat thebuil dersre jected has be come thecorner stone.
and failed miserably to make sense our lives. Like the example above, some pieces of our lives may makes sense, but not all of it.
The good news? God is in the restoration business. He takes broken lives and makes sense out of them. Over and over again. Through Christ’s love, and through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can be put back together again so we will be in the correct relationship with God. Since God alone knows our purpose for which He has created each of us, He is the only one who can put our lives back together correctly. We can’t.
What happens when sin comes back in our lives, which will happen as long as we are on earth because that is our nature? Using the same example –
Thesto sin nethat thebuilsin dersre jected has besin come thesin corner stone.
Each time we fall back into sin, He will give us the same two choices?voluntarily be broken, or be crushed. Fall on Jesus or have righteous judgment fall on you and me. Either way, that sin which has attached itself to us must be broken away or our lives will once again be out of whack. Until our Lord’s loving hands correct us and put things back in order, our lives won’t make sense.
Question – What choice will you make – voluntarily fall on Jesus, or be crushed?
