“Head Of
The Corner”
Come to
him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in
God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual
house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God
through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture: “See, I am laying in Zion a
stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not
be put to shame.” To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do
not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of
the corner,” and “A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them
fall.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
But you
are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in
order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of
darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are
God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Beloved,
I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that
wage war against the soul. Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so
that though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honorable deeds and
glorify God, when he comes to judge.
1 Peter 2:4-12
Abraham
Lincoln knew what it meant to face criticism. He stated he did the very best he
knew how, and he would do that to the end. He noted if the end brought him out
all right, what was said about him would not amount to anything. He also noted
if the end proved him wrong, ten angels swearing about his goodness would make
no difference.
Criticism
can consume our lives to the point of emotional paralysis, or we can set our
hearts to serve God faithfully undeterred by that criticism and put our God on
display. When we do that, we won’t need to answer our critics with words – our
lives will say all that is needed.
The most powerful testimony
is
a godly life.
Our Daily Bread – September 16, 2008