Of rocks and sand clods - part 2

“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:18

What is most interesting for me in this passage is Jesus’ choice of words to describe Peter, the man who is chosen to be the first great leader of the church – the rock.
One of the most distinguishable characteristics about a rock is that it is the same irrespective of the environment in which it finds itself.
If you find a rock in the mountains, it is a rock.
If you then put it in your pocket, it is a rock.
If you take it home and place it on your windowsill, it is a rock.
If you then take that rock and throw it in your swimming pool, it is still a rock.

The point I am trying to make here is that a rock is a rock no matter where it finds itself. And for this very reason Jesus was able to use Peter on which to build His church on earth. Because Peter was to be the rock, he was to be courageous and stable, unfaltering and consistent in his ways.
Jesus didn’t say, “on this chameleon I will build my church”, because the job of building His Kingdom is not something that can be done by one who is planning to spend his life on earth blending in to his surroundings.

What can we take out of this for our own lives?

Often in life we find ourselves in situations where we don’t necessarily want to be – it could be working a boring job or living in a city we don’t like or just being somewhere we don’t want to be. What we need to practice in these times is that the place where we are should not determine how we live our lives. If we live in a corrupt country, we should not become corrupt, if we are in the company of gossipers, we should not take on their behaviour in order to fit in. If we work with people who are bitter and angry, or resentful, we should not become like them.

Instead we should be the rocks, unwavering in our behaviour and attitude toward life, irrespective of the place in which we find ourselves. In these times we should seek God’s Word and apply it, no matter how difficult that may be, because that is what it means to be a rock.
We must expect God to allow us to be in these testing situations, so that our qualities of being a rock can be galvanised and strengthened through us practising what His Word teaches us. Remember this when you find yourself somewhere you don’t want to be – instead of complaining about it, use the opportunity to re-enforce your rock qualities.

On a final note, chameleons will fit in on earth, but rocks will fit in in heaven – we might as well start practising for eternity.

Be blessed, make music, live with passion for Christ
NS