This is a story about a king who lived on a mountain and His great love for the people below in the village. They were always complaining about their low estate and weakness and wanted something to help them feel good about themselves. So the King made a rock and placed it in the middle of their village and He called it The Bragging Rock. Every time one of the villagers had done something wrong, they could come to this rock and touch it and they would feel great freedom from the penalty of their wrongdoings. Also, those who wanted a great talent would come and touch the rock and they would have that talent and they would get better and better. Those who could sing would sing better every time they sang and those who could preach would preach better every time they preached, and those who could play a musical instrument would play better every time they played if they touched the rock. The only stipulation the King set on using the rock was that the villagers always bragged on the rock itself and proclaim they couldn't do anything without the rock. News of this great bragging rock spread far and wide and people came from all over to touch the rock and of course, they were able to do greater things than they could ever do from their own abilities. Soon people were wanting to see how they could do things and not brag on the rock, but look like they had those talents already. So they brought chisels and started knocking off pieces of the rock and taking it with them wherever they traveled and they soon forgot The Bragging Rock in the village and they were able to do things rather welll without needing The Bragging Rock because they had a piece with them and that was enough to make them feel good about themselves. In fact, people would come up to them after they sang and say, "Wow, you are good! Where did you get such talent?" And they would say, "Oh I've always been able to sing and I love to do it." Never once did they mention the source of their talent, The Bragging Rock." Back at the village so many people had chiseled away pieces from The Bragging Rock that it made it now a small rock and they took it out of the middle of the village and put in a shed located out back of the village. Since people couldn't see the Bragging Rock anymore, they soon forgot about it and life went on. Those who had small pieces of the rock continued to pass down their "talents" to their children and their children's children, but there wasn't as much power in the talent. They started wondering why the power of the chipped rock pieces wasn't enough, so they started bragging on themselves hoping to see more power come out of their bragging, but it didn't help. After a while they became disillusioned with their rock pieces and threw them away. They continued to brag on themselves and on others to make them feel like the power from the bragging rock was still with them, but it wasn't. The power source of their talents became themselves and others who bragged about them. The pure power of The Bragging Rock was gone and they didn't know it could be any different, so they lived powerless lives puffing up each others egoes. One day the King came down from the mountain and told them if they would bring all the bragging rock pieces back to the village, he would make everything like it should be. So word spread out far and wide about the King's proposal and one by one they found their rock pieces and brought them to the village square. When they got to the village they saw the King standing in the very place where he put the bragging rock and he was holding the remmant of the original rock in His hands. He told the people. "Bow down and repent!!" They fell to their knees and lifted up their rock pieces and those pieces were lifted out of their hands and connected to the central rock in the Kings hands. He put it all back together again and The Bragging Rock was whole in the Kings hands. Once again power and light emanated from the rock the King had formed to empower the people, and once again, all who touched it and bragged on it received the power of forgiveness and the power to do great things in their lives. The lesson the people learned changed their village, their province, and their world, and all knew that the only bragging that would be done in the kingdom would be done about The Bragging Rock. The King went back up the mountain and watched carefully to make sure that The Bragging Rock was never chipped away again for the people's own gain, and the people once again remembered where their power and talent came from. The Bragging Rock.
1 Peter 2:4 Welcome to the living Stone, the source of life. The workmen took one look and threw it out; God set it in the place of honor. 5 Present yourselves as building stones for the construction of a sanctuary vibrant with life, in which you'll serve as holy priests offering Christ-approved lives up to God. 6 The Scriptures provide precedent: Look! I'm setting a stone in Zion, a cornerstone in the place of honor. Whoever trusts in this stone as a foundation will never have cause to regret it. 7 To you who trust him, he's a Stone to be proud of, but to those who refuse to trust him, The stone the workmen threw out is now the chief foundation stone. 8 For the untrusting it's . . . a stone to trip over, a boulder blocking the way. They trip and fall because they refuse to obey, just as predicted. 9 But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you - 10 from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.
Jesus is the cornerstone, He is our bragging stone. If we will continue to be connected to Him and His touch we will do great things. But, if we try to do things on our own He we will be the stone that trips us up and we will live powerless lives where we brag on ourselves and leave God out of our lives. The powerless church of today is not connected to the Bragging Stone, Jesus. The church of today is full of conceited, self gratifying, selfish people who only brag on themselves and their family and friends. They have chipped away at the power source and tried to live without God. Their worship is heartless, powerless, and fruitless. We must bring our weak, lifeless lives back to God and beg Him to put us back together again. We must bring our chipped off pieces back to our Maker and live lives that brag on Jesus, The Bragging Stone. He is not just a stone. He is the cornerstone!! When we do that we will see God's power as of old and a great awakening will occur. We must touch The Bragging Stone!!!
The Pilgrimage continues.....
David Warren
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