Alive by Grace: I'm not the Building, Just a Piece of Driftwood

In him, the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. Ephesians 2:21-22

 The culture I live in, that of the United States and more particularly of the Pacific Northwest, is one of intense individuality. People pride themselves fiercely on their independence. There is a homeless man, Brian, who lives downtown that, despite having no where to lay his head and nothing to eat or drink, absolutely will not accept charity of any kind. He will not accept a book to read, although he is a voracious reader, or a meal with a family. His sense of independence is so strong it prevents him from connecting with those around him. I’ll confess that I’ve had judgmental thoughts about this, thinking him foolish or prideful, but this morning I am confronted with the truth that I am no less at fault in this area than he is, perhaps even more.

 I have though of my personal walk with Jesus as just that, a personal walk. Today’s verses remind me that it is not all about me, but that I am a piece in a much larger puzzle. Does God love me and see me and care about me individually? Yes! Absolutely! But is my relationship with Him purely one-on-one? No, it is not. When Jesus saved me, He made me a part of His church, His kingdom, His body. There are many illustrations of this in the New Testament, both here in Ephesians 2 and over in 1 Corinthians 12. In Corinthians, Paul talks about how we are all parts of the body of Christ and that while one might be an ear another might be a foot. I have always worried that I am the appendix 😕! Here, in Ephesians, we look at this relationship like a building.

 This building was built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets (Ephesians 2:20). Each generation, each believer, does not form their own new, individual building. We are all incorporated into One building, and this building was created on a solid foundation, one that God designed from the beginning of time. When Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, the first prophecy was given regarding the Messiah (Genesis 3:15). From this point on, God sent prophets to teach, to warn, and to encourage. Each one building on the other, we now have our modern-day Bible with 66 books from about 40 different authors. It was written over the span of around 1,500 years with most of these authors never having encountered the others. Despite this, above all impossibility, the Bible contains no errors, no inconsistencies. All of these accounts agree with one another. They all work together to tell the great story of God’s love for us and His perfect, eternal plan. Joining in with the prophets from the Old Testament, the apostles who wrote the New Testament continue the epic saga with our hope in Christ and the truth of what is to come.

 Our hope in Christ forms the cornerstone of the building God is creating through us. What is a cornerstone you might ask? Not all of us are architects who are familiar with this terminology, so I thought I’d do a little digging and see if I could get some insight as to why God chose this term for Jesus. According to Britannica, cornerstones historically symbolized “seeds” from which the building took shape and grew. Back to the Bible shares that the cornerstone was both structurally important, holding the whole building together, and directionally important as all the other corners would be placed in relation to it. This all makes sense when we look at the importance of Jesus in our lives and in the Church. In Colossians 1:18 we read, “And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.” This would position Him as the cornerstone, the first stone placed directing all others, that from which the building “grows.” And remember, He is not just the cornerstone of our lives (an individual perspective), but of the worldwide Church as a whole. It is in Jesus that, despite any differences we might have in liturgy or doctrine, we can find our unity.

Here's the Thing: When I read this verse, I think of a building in Skagway, Alaska that I’ve seen on our multiple visits. It’s façade is made of thousands of pieces of driftwood. I almost see each of us believers as a piece of that driftwood in a giant, corporate building. We group together to form designs and shapes, adding interest as well as structural integrity. We are each an integral part of the perfect building, the perfect body, the perfect kingdom that God is creating.