You yourselves are 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. 2 Peter 2:5
My mother had an obsession with real estate. Many Sunday afternoons as a little girl I spent in the back of a gold Chevrolet Caprice Classic (without a seatbelt, mind you. Mommies, can you imagine?! Ahh!). Riding from one Parade of Homes to the next. Mother took notes on her favorite entry ways and hardwood flooring. She drew plans of kitchen islands and breakfast nooks.
In her heart she was building a structure. A dream home. A place of retirement for the days her work was done.
She saved pennies her entire adult life for this dream home of hers. Meeting contractors and drawing blueprints. And at age 58 she bought a level, wooded lot and broke ground. The soft earth’s official introduction to this home in her heart.
At age 59, the doctor diagnosed her with Pancreatic Cancer.
A wrench in the plans. But little bother to her. Mother pressed on with building, laying brick after brick, holding fast that her dream home would come to fruition. A deliberate act of faith. Unimaginable to the carnal mind, given the predicted outcome of her disease.
Yet still, one cold day in February, I sat at her bedside holding a weak hand. Construction less than halfway to an end.
But her life drawing very near to it.
The cancer demolishing everything in its path.
Rubbing her arm, I whispered, “Momma, what do you want us to do about the house? We will finish it if you want.”
No hesitation …“Sell it.”
Silence.
“Just sell it.” And with closed eyes and a weak voice, “I invested so much into that home all these years, but it’s not the place I’ll retire after all.”
Behold I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. 2 Peter 2:6
The last months of her life the building of her house may have stopped, but the construction never did. For in the end she built a legacy of faith that will last an eternity. Her pursuit of Christ unhindered by the circumstances of her illness. She continues as a living stone, one brick of an eternal, spiritual house.
She decisively chose to strengthen the only structure that would remain. Her soul. A legacy of faith she left behind for us all to build upon.
And much like the temple in Jerusalem, before one “single stone was thrown to the ground, a cornerstone was set in place. Upon it rolled one living stone after another so that by the time the sanctuary built by human hands was destroyed (or in mom’s case, sold) another constructed by God’s hands was under way.” Mercy Triumphs p.204 (addition my own)
Christ. The Cornerstone. Chosen and precious.
This morning, I am reminded of my mother, a lover of homes, who in her final hours recognized there is only one precious stone that mattered. Christ Jesus. And through Him alone, she passed down a spiritual inheritance, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood. For me and countless generations to come.
Now that is a Real Estate.
Reflect and Respond:
Do we see ourselves as living stones? A solid piece of the eternal structure? Precious and chosen by the Cornerstone Himself. You, beloved, are being built up as spiritual structure. And your pursuit of Him is building you up to maturity in Christ Jesus. Amazing.
Take a minute to share of someone in your life who laid a sturdy foundation for your walk with Christ. Who is a precious stone underneath you, helping frame the spiritual house of your life today?
Share your answers today on your own blog, as well as here below.
Power Verse:
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. Ephesians 2:19-20
Becky Crenshaw 
You must be logged in to post a comment.