Rubble or Wall?

The Church isn't a building — it's a building being built. A living stone only lives when it's connected to the Living Stone. Disconnected, it's just rubble. Are you part of the wall?

Transcript

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Good morning, this is North R. A stone disconnected from the building isn't a building block. It's just rubble. Good morning. This is Northword, the Word, the North, Your Week, a daily podcast from St. John's Fort Smith, in collaboration with the Anglican family. I'm your host, Father Aaron. St. Peter says that when we come to Christ, who is the living stone, we ourselves become living stones. And it's a beautiful image of the dead stone, the stone that has no life becoming alive. And it directly confronts one of the most common things I often hear. I don't need the church, that's just a building, because I have a relationship with Jesus outside of that building. And half of that is right. The church is not a building, but the argument stops too soon. See, church is not a building. It's a building being built. There is a difference. And we are the building material. Peter says Christ is the cornerstone, the source of structural life for the whole thing. The Holy Spirit is the mortar, if you want. And we are the stones, living stones. But here's the thing about a living stone: it only lives because it is attached to the living stone. Detached from the wall, it's not free, it's dead, it's just a rock on the ground. Charles Spurgeon tells a story about coming to visit a man who has stopped going to church, and the man says, Well, you know, I'm still religious, I just didn't feel the need for church. And so Charles Spurgeon walks over to the fireplace and he takes out a coal and he places it on the floor, and of course the coal dies and has no more keep, no more warmth. It doesn't matter how hot the coal used to be, or how long it burned, or how sincere it is about its relationship with fire. Once it's separated, it goes cold. And that's not judgment, that's just how the fire works. A lot of people in our world are sincere about Jesus. I don't doubt that for a second. But sincerity and connection are two different things. You can be generally moved by Christ and still be living as a disconnected stone. Warm in memory, cold in practice. Peter isn't asking us to go to a building, he is asking us to be part of what God is building. That's a very different invitation. So today, are you part of the wall or are you just leaning against it? Thank you for having joined us this morning. I hope you've enjoyed your time with us. Please feel free to text us using the text us link in the description to reach out. And until tomorrow, may God be with you. Amen.