Don’t stumble over this!
Jesus' teachings may be hard sometimes, but rejection of him isn't the answer
It was our friend Jason’s Soccer Grand Final and I took my three sons to support him. Just before the game started, one of my boys (who shall remain nameless) had to go to the toilet. That’s when it happened.
About half a meter from the urinal, my son stumbled over the step up to the urinal. Then he put out his hands to stop himself falling (sounds good in theory). But his hands landed flat on the urinal. YUCK! A lot of thoughts went through my head. I imagined how many men had used that day, that week, that month. Had the urinal been cleaned recently; at all. Would my son’s hand ever be clean again. Would we have to have his hands surgically removed. I know, parents don’t always think rationally.
Then another thought flushed, I mean flashed, into my mind. You don’t want to go stumbling over the step before the urinal. But the Bible says there is something else that we should be careful not to stumble over.
"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.” (1Peter 2:7-8a)
What is this “stone”? Actually, it is “who” is this stone? This is talking about Jesus. Jesus is the living stone, chosen by God and precious to Him (v.4). Jesus came to earth so that every who trusts in Him will never be put to shame (v.6). God wants us to build our lives around Jesus; who He is, what He did and what He tells us to do.
However, many people stumble over Jesus.
Many people rejected Jesus back then (v.4). And many people reject him today. They stumble over His claim to be God. They stumble over His death on the cross being a punishment for personal sin. They stumble over His exclusive claim to being the only way to God. And I can understand why people do stumble at these points. Some of this is hard to swallow. But this is what the Bible teaches and I know of no better authority to base my life on.
To stumble over Jesus will mean a fate worse than landing hand first in a urinal. It will mean separation from the God of live and love forever.
So check out who Jesus is and what He did. Don’t reject Him. Don’t stumble over Him. Build your life upon Him.
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