1 Peter 2: 4-8 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him—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. For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,” and, “A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

One time a number of years ago I agreed to serve as an election judge. On election day, I went to the courthouse and met the crew I would work with. This was not a major election date, but one for local offices, so there was a lot of down time during the day. One lady that I worked with was quite the talker. I listened a lot more than I spoke that day. And I remember that she had a word that she loved to use to describe just about everything she spoke of: precious. She used it so often that it seemed to diminish the meaning of the word. Precious is a word that denotes something of great value and worth to you, things that stand out in a special way. Evidently everything was precious to her.

What is precious to you? Your spouse, children and grandchildren? Family heirlooms? Probably multiple things are deemed worthy of that description in your life. Most people reserve that term for the things that are most prized in their lives.

What God considers precious is described in this passage as a living Stone, cornerstone, capstone, and a stumbling block. We know without a doubt He is referring to Jesus, because it says “the one who trusts in HIM will never be put to shame.”

The Stone is living because the sacrificed Jesus did not stay dead. After offering Himself as the payment for sin through death on the cross, He rose again to live forever. He is living. He is also a life-giving Stone. Those who trust in Him get the benefit of everything He did for us.

The tragedy is that those who reject this living stone do not get the benefit of what Jesus earned for them. It is available at no cost to anyone who will recognize just how precious He, the living Stone, is. Those who have been led to faith in Jesus by the Holy Spirit regard Him as precious indeed!