My Cornerstone

“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (Psalm 118:22). Perhaps you’ve read this verse and wondered, “What exactly is a cornerstone?” We know from other Scriptures that the imagery of a cornerstone represents the character of the Lord. “Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes?’” (Matt. 21:42 and Psalm 118:22-23). “With Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone” (Eph. 2:20).

In ancient construction, the cornerstone bore the weight of a building and served as the standard for orienting (positioning) and leveling (smoothing) the rest of the structure. The Bible tells me as a child of God, I am being built into a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5). As such, Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of my life, my house. He carries the weight and burden of my day. He is the standard for my position in life, and I discover His standards when I read the Bible. In Him, I find leveling, my balance in life. He goes before me and makes the path I take straight and smooth. “Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain” (Isa. 40:4). Because He is my cornerstone, He strengthens me, directs my steps, and provides peaceful steadiness to my life.

The cornerstone, or foundation stone, is the first stone in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to the stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. The Foundation Stone is the name of the rock at the center of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. I find this interesting:

As the navel is set in the center of the human body,

so is the land of Israel the navel of the world…

situated in the center of the world,

and Jerusalem in the center of the land of Israel,

and the sanctuary in the center of Jerusalem,

and the holy place in the center of the sanctuary,

and the ark in the center of the holy place,

and the Foundation Stone before the holy place,

because from it the world was founded.

Is Jesus Christ the center of your life, your Cornerstone, the Rock on which you build your life?