Every Stone Is Important

Every Stone Is Important

A young man hiking through New Hampshire stopped to rest by a farmer who was repairing one of those famous New England stone walls. As they chatted, he helped the farmer place several large stones to close a break in the wall. Then he watched as the wall-builder carefully sorted through a pile of smaller stones to find those which would fit snugly into every nook and cranny between those big stones. This activity prompted the young hiker to ask, “Why bother filling in every little space with those small stones? Aren’t the big stones enough to do the job? After all, the breach is closed, isn’t it?”

The farmer’s response went something like this: “Sure, the big stones will close the gap – for now. But if it weren’t for those small stones supporting them, the big ones would soon fall down and take some more of the wall with them. Then we’d be worse off than before. Those small stones may not appear like much in size, but they are doing an important work keeping those big stones more securely in place.”

When I heard this story, I was reminded that Peter said Christians are like the stones in this wall: “You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house” (1 Pet. 2:5 NIV). Some are big while others are small, but none are insignificant. Our value is not determined by the untrained eye of the casual passerby, but rather by the skillful placement of the Master Builder, who knows just what is needed and where it is needed in the spiritual house building process.

Are you a big “living stone” doing an important job? This analogy suggests that you’d collapse quickly if it weren’t for all those little stones surrounding you and holding you up – with prayer support, encouragement, financial support, and other sorts of assistance. Remember, every living stone is important in God’s eyes.

By Larry Ondrejack