“So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation — if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: ‘Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame’” (1 Peter 2:1-6).
Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Peter calls Jesus a living stone, a word picture that can be a valuable revelation in your heart if you really grasp it. Christ is a stone — firm and immovable— unchanging in all his ways! And Peter emphasizes that he is a living stone, a life-giving Spirit, who absolutely, passionately loves every single one of us.
In today’s culture, people are rejecting the stone and they do not even realize it. The stone they are building their lives on consists of their own desires, their own dreams and aspirations. They choose where they place the stone but Jesus requires us to follow him, to submit our plans to him. He has hewn you, pulled you from his own quarry and called you into this spiritual house that God is building.
You are called to be one body, to love one another deeply, and that is why Peter starts this chapter by saying, “Put away malice toward others; put away deceit; drop hypocrisy and envy and slander. These things are wood, hay, and stubble.”
When you offer your life up to Jesus and build on his foundation, you become part of a spiritual house, holy and pure and on fire for God.