Editorial January 24, 1920 Issue

Living Stones in a Spiritual House

William P. McKenzie

Peter begins his epistle with an invocation of blessing because of the living hope established by the resurrection. He says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." Very soon in his discourse he begins to develop an illustration of the facts of life from the building of the temple, whose stones were cut to their proper pattern in the distant quarries and required only to be set in place by the builders. It was said that one stone rejected by the workmen became an obstacle and an annoyance until at the very last its place was found for it; hence the words of the psalm: "The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes."

Speaking of the graciousness of the one whom he had once so clearly identified, saying, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," Peter invites those with newborn desire for purity to come to the Christ; "to whom coming," he says, "as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ."

To human sense, that views humanity personally, the metaphysical meaning of the apostle is not discernible. Even history would make us believe that there never has been equality of opportunity for all men, never an equitable sharing of good. Its testimony is that always there have been prince and pauper, ruling house and serf, opulence and penury, arrogance and servitude. The conception that Christ Jesus introduced was revolutionary in this respect, that it caused old things to pass away. Not through catastrophe, however, but through enlightenment do all things become new, and the change is well expressed by Paul when he says that the Christian should "serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter;" or declares that we "should walk in newness of life." Simply expressed, the newness is in our expecting good from Spirit and no longer from matter, looking for praise from God and not from men, and finding our life not in the body but in sonship with God.

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