I Peter 2:4-8 Did ya know you are honored?

We're diving back into our studies this week, in I Peter....let's think for a minute....when we are faced with trials and obstacles, we may think "Woe is me!"
But did you know we are actually privileged? Honored?
Yup.
Seriously.
Let's look at our verses for this week:

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 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. 6 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.”
7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,“The stone the builders rejected    has become the cornerstone,”
8 and,“A stone that causes people to stumble    and a rock that makes them fall.”
They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

There's a lot here for us....Peter quotes three different Old Testament verses here, and we will get into all of that as we go.
There are many places in the Bible where God seeks to tell us how truly special we are as believers. That we are privileged.  In Ephesians, we read that believers have every spiritual blessing in heavenly places.  In Romans (8:17), we are co-heirs with Christ. When Jesus gave us the lovely sermon that includes the "beatitudes," He said the kingdom of heaven is ours (and ours alone), and after the beatitudes we are called the salt and light of the earth! God wants us as His children to know how special we are. Especially in a world that disrespects and persecutes us, that is truly important for us to know!
Our focus passage up there talks about the honor and privileges of Christians. In fact, many commentators translate the phrase "Now to you who believe this stone is precious", as this phrase: "So the honor is for you who believe." You can see this in the ESV, if you would like to look it up.

I kinda think that Peter was trying again to encourage those scattered believers who were enduring ridicule, obstacles, and persecution because of their faith. In fact, Peter not only is going to talk about the believers' privileges in Christ, but he also compares them to those who reject Christ..... those who "stumble over" Him. The honor of the believers is all the more wonderful when it is compared to those who have stumbled and rejected Jesus. It is truly a picture of the grace of God in our lives.  I've always thought that these privileges would be even more cherished by Jewish believers, for they would really identify with the Old Testament analogies to Israel that Peter uses.

Let's look at the first privilege that Peter mentions -- we have the privilege of continually coming to Christ.

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him (I Peter 2:4)

Remember how sometimes in our studies we have noted that a word means a little more than what we read in it today? This is another one of those times!
The phrase "as you come to Him" is a present participle in the original language (yeah, I know I'm a grammar nerd, I can't help it!) and it has the meaning of "as you continually come to Him." So this means not just when we come to Him at the time we accept His gift of salvation, but also coming to Him in worship, in our prayers, and through reading His Word each day.

Another word here is "precious." This literally means "there is nothing like" Him. We have the right to come to the living stone that was rejected by mortal men, but was chosen by God. That's our privilege.
Peter was pointing his Jewish readers back to the prophet Isaiah:

So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone,    a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;
the one who relies on it    will never be stricken with panic. (Isaiah 28:16)

God refers to Jesus Christ here as that "precious" (there is none like Him) foundation for our faith.
Let's pull our old friend Paul into the conversation here, for he has something to add:

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

Since our Savior can understand and sympathize, this should encourage us to continually approach His throne to receive mercy and grace.
Is that ole devil whispering in your ear as we start 2018? Is he trying to tell you that you shouldn't go back daily to ask God for mercy? That we are unworthy to receive a daily measure of Jesus' grace? I know, he bothers me sometimes, too. But we need to just shake him off with a healthy dose of prayer time. (Grin)
Let's not neglect our prayer times, for they are a wonderful privilege! It's at Jesus feet that we find mercy, and forgiveness for our sins. And we find the grace to get up and try again.

What's keeping us from enjoying this tremendous privilege?
Think about it.