“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.” I Peter 2:5 (NIV) It is hard to picture what a living stone would look like but you are a living spiritual brick and God is carving all of us into perfect pieces of a magnificent spiritual temple of God’s presence. And, we have the Spirit of God dwelling inside us, as in the holy of holies in Solomon’s temple. So we are the higher fulfillment of the concept of God’s temple. God dwells in us and our whole lives are sacrifices, offerings, to God; this is all in the realm of living spiritual realities instead of a physical temple and physical sacrifices.
Moreover, just as the Garden of Eden was a temple of God’s presence so now the collective of all believers is the new garden of God, the complete temple of God. God’s mission is to create an eternal community of love with his followers and his people, which is his dwelling place. We are all living stones combined together into one community. And we are priests because we have direct access to God and we offer our hearts and actions to God which God gladly welcomes because we come to God through Jesus. This is our spiritual reality. Whether we feel it or not this is God’s revelation and encouragement for us.
Do you think of yourself as a spiritual brick in a living temple where God dwells? Do you think of yourself as united with all other believers into one community that God dearly loves?
