the Third Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Voice of the Lord
The very rock that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone! (Psalm 118:22)
When asked how he produced such marvelous sculptures, the brilliant Italian artist Michelangelo responded that he just chipped away all the stone that didn't belong and released the piece within. He had the ability to look at a block of marble and see the beauty that it contained. Tragically, many among the first-century Jewish leadership in Israel—the God-ordained builders of the Kingdom of God—did not have the gift of being able to see the inner beauty of a person. They rejected the precious stone that God had chosen to be the foundation of his spiritual house—Yeshua—and stumbled over him like debris.
However, before we are quick to judge their error, it would be wise to examine our own hearts. For even those who have recognized the living stone, Yeshua, often miss the precious value of the living stones that God has selected to be built together with him into that spiritual Temple. Rabbi Sha'ul (Saul; i.e., Paul) exhorted us to see one another, not according to external characteristics, but as new creations in Messiah. For it is the Lord who has chipped away, and is still chipping away all the pieces that don't belong in our lives. He is releasing the masterpieces he has created within us that we can all see in one another by looking through Messiah's eyes.
...reject all carnal judgments about my brothers and sisters, and see them as God sees them.
MM
The Voice of the Lord, Copyright © 1998 by the Lewis and Harriet Lederer Foundation, Inc. Published by Messianic Jewish Publishers, Distributed by Messianic Jewish Resources, www.messianicjewish.net. All rights reserved. Used by permission. No part of this article may be reproduced in print or on the web, or transmitted in any form, without the written permission of the publisher.
