Building Your Life on the Right Foundation

by Paul Monahan - Jesus is the cornerstone of our faith. A cornerstone was the first foundational stone laid in the building’s foundations.

It was designed to have every other stone in the foundations use it as a reference point, to keep the walls straight and aligned. They were often very large beautifully dressed stones to provide maximum guidance. So, the people of Jesus time would have had a basic understanding as to what the reference would mean as written in scripture in Psalms and the Prophets.

For Jesus Himself is referenced as using the cornerstone analogy in all three of the synoptic gospels (Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10, Luke 20:17). Acknowledging that He was the foretold cornerstone. A key spiritual concept then and now.

So, what might that look like in our spiritual journey as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ? If we are to treat Him as the cornerstone then all our practice should align with His practice.

If we are disciples, we are imitating our Rabbi, our Teacher, because that was the pattern of the time. We would follow our Rabbi and do as He did.

Therefore, our role is the same as Jesus’ original disciples – to watch, listen and imitate. This is going to take a whole lot more effort than turning up on Sunday.

How might that translate to our practice as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). “The Way” as the early church was known. The way was spread by the Apostles (Jesus’ disciples) as they travelled the countryside spreading the word and story of Jesus.

Through His disciples Jesus was literally saying, this is how you shall live; I have told, and more importantly, I have shown you.

Sometimes I wonder whether we have lost sight of that concept – that we are, as it was for “The Way”, followers of Jesus, imitators of Jesus, disciples of Jesus! That seems on occasion to be lost in translation in our modern world.

He is still the cornerstone of the foundations of our faith and to that all else is aligned. The cornerstone concept is further enhanced by Paul in Ephesians 2:19-20:

“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone”.

To further consolidate our understanding of what this means; while a cornerstone refers to any of the corner foundation stones, the chief cornerstone refers specifically to the most important, crowning stone that unites the structure, often placed at the top of a structure or corner.

This affirms the truth as is confirmed by Jesus own words, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” (Revelation 22:13).

Everything is held together by Jesus, through Jesus. Let’s keep the main thing the main thing and chose daily to imitate Jesus Christ to the best of our ability.

Blessings
Paul Monahan