The Cornerstone

What does mean that Jesus is the "Cornerstone"

The cornerstone of a building has to be level in several directions as well as sitting on a strong foundation itself. Jesus Christ is the Cornerstone of Christianity.

We all readily and quickly agree on this truth but might stumble a bit if asked, "how is He the Cornerstone of your life?"

Let's try to answer that in context of the old newspaper adage:

Who? John 14:6

What? John 3:16

When? 2 Cor 6:2, "...Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation."

Where? Dt 30:12-14, "It is not in heaven, that you should say, 'Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?' Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, 'Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?' But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it."

Why? "... no other name under heaven given among men by which
we must be saved."

and How? The "How" is easy to miss if you're not looking for it. It is found in verse 13, "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus."

"they had been with Jesus" means they had a relationship with Him that changed their lives.

Relationships don't work by formulas. I don't pull out a marriage book and pick out the appropriate phrases to speak to my wife each day.

In the same way an authentic relationship with Christ like these men had is dynamic, not static. It is a daily dose of Presence, Perceiving, Praying and Preeminence.

Presence
In order to be with my wife, I have to go where she is. Jesus Christ is found in the quiet place where the "still small voice" can be heard.

Perceiving
In order to hear what someone says, you have to listen to them Psalm 27:8 says, "... Your face, LORD, do I seek." You find the face of God in the Word of God.......

Praying
Ps 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart." IOW, know the will of God, pray the will of God, see the will of God accomplished. Those types of prayers originate in the heart of God, come to us via the Holy Spirit. Then the prayers are are returned to heaven by the same Holy Spirit (Rom 8:26 says, "...the Spirit himself intercedes for us..." ) where they are presented to Jesus "who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us" (Rom 8:34) and His intercession returns those prayer to the heart of God! That kind of praying will change your life and will change our world!

Preeminence
Over time and with consistency, the practice of Presence, Perceiving, and Praying will give the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ greater and greater Preeminence in your life an you will become progressively transformed into a person of spiritual boldness about whom people are astonished and recognize that you have been with Jesus.

The Word of God and Christian history are full of men and women who resolved to walk in this way with the Lord Jesus Christ; to make Him their Chief Cornerstone. They were normal, average people who decided that nothing in their lives was more important than being with Jesus. Jesus uses people like that to change the world.

What about you?