Set by Christ (Psalm 118)
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
~ Psalm 118:22-24
The cornerstone is the foundational stone of any structure, meticulously set to guide the placement of all other stones. The strength of the cornerstone determines the overall strength of the construction. Jesus is the cornerstone of the church and our lives as Christians.
However, our cornerstone was first rejected. By his own people, he was mocked, betrayed, beaten, and crucified to suffer the penalty we deserve for our sin and reconcile us back to our holy God. As Luke states, “Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces” (Luke 20:18). When we are broken before Christ, we can accept his healing, and he will break our prideful, sinful hearts as he sanctifies us before the Father. We cannot be made whole on our own; we need our lives to be set by the cornerstone, and by God’s grace, all we have to do is come to him.
“As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:4-5)
Although our cornerstone was rejected by humans, he was chosen by God to be the perfect foundation of the church. As its living stones, we must align ourselves with the cornerstone, for he alone determines the entire structure. A building cannot stand without the cornerstone, and we cannot stand without our lives set by Jesus. He is our reference point—the foundation from which everything else builds. We must be willing to continually offer spiritual sacrifices, surrendering our desires as we follow him and rejoicing in the renewed life Jesus has established for us. Therefore, our lives should align with the cornerstone and be a testament to the unfailing strength of our Savior’s love. As the psalmist declare, “I will not die but live and will proclaim what the Lord has done” (Psalm 118:17).
So let us remain as stones set by him because with him as our cornerstone, we experience the full grace of God. With him as our cornerstone, we live.
Olivia is a freshman in Columbia College hoping to study Psychology. She enjoys basketball, playing ukulele, and listening to worship music during study breaks.