The stone in the picture above is a marker stone, a natural marker of someone who has walked past this tree on a hike. There are many of them along the path I walk. Memories of someone passing by.
This got me to wondering about how others will remember me as I’ve passed by or in their lives. Ray Vander Laan talks about Christians as being “Living Stones” in his book In the Dust of the Rabbi. Christians, with the Holy Spirit dwelling within, are to be living testimonies of God’s power, and love.
We are being shaped by life experiences and our reactions as we walk among the world with God’s guidance and power teaching us how to react and grow. The good and the bad things we experience shape us. In that respect, we are like a piece of rough stone being sculpted and ground by these experiences into the polished stone as part of God’s Holy Temple of living stones.
You’ve heard the expression “God’s not finished with me yet”. Well, for me, that means God is still shaping me, walking with me and guiding me in my daily life. So how do I, as a living stone impact others leaving a mark upon the path of others? The key is to walk in love, realizing that God is shaping me for a very specific purpose that He has had since the beginning.
Sounds easy, but it is not. We are still in this world, with everyday problems and our usual faults. We need to go to the source of love, through prayer and contemplation, reading God’s holy word. Then let His love shine through us as we serve others with love.
Some may say it sounds trite, but as a living stone, the marks we leave behind will be remembered by others as they in turn leave their marks. It’s how the early church started. Through prayer and sharing of God’s love in acts of kindness and service to those in need.
So, a marker stone that is a living stone is the most enduring, long-lasting stone of all. The next time you walk along a path and see a marker stone, think of a living stone and how you can become one, simply by accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior. As the Holy Spirit dwells within you, pray for guidance to find other believers and pick up a Bible to start your journey. You too will become a living stone that God will shape for his Holy Temple of love and praise, leaving marks for others to believe and grow from as well. It’s up to you. Are you a “living stone“?
Janet Pierce's Writing Cafe 