SAVE THE ROCKS!

a few years ago i was driving in mexico
on the long and dangerous road from tecate to ensenada-
and as i drove, i noticed that there weren’t any buildings,
just tumbleweed, cactus, and rocks- billions of brown rocks.
i was riding with a family and i asked
“where did all of these rocks come from?”

the daughter answered:
“the story is-
that when God finished creating man and the earth from clay,
He clapped His hands together,
and the clay from His hands fell here.”

i could see why that was “the story.”
it looked just like that.

and i started to wonder:
where do rocks come from?
are they born out of the ground?
no.
are they uncovered by rain?
probably.
so they were there all along!
so where did they come from?
have they been there-
underground since the dawn of time?
if there are no new rocks being formed,
will we run out?

i mean really-
our world loves rocks.
they make streets out of them,
buildings out of them,
landscapes out of them-
what if we use them all up?

in the 70’s it was all about
preserving the world’s supply of oil
and fossil fuels.
these days its all about saving trees.
but at least you can replant trees
and use synthetic oil!
what about the rocks?!
what can we do when they are gone?

i’m starting a new campaign:
SAVE THE ROCKS!

rocks play an important role in the bible
jacob used a rock for a pillow- ouch!
he used rocks to remember places where he met God
moses hit a rock and water came out
he was supposed to talk to one
but was too embarrassed.
he hid in the cleft of a rock.
oh- and the ten commandments?
carved onto rocks!
rocks- especially in quantities of 12-
were used to illustrate and commemorate
the 12 tribes.

david used a rock to kill goliath
the bible even calls God a rock
a lot of times.
and God always got mad when people
made little gods- out of rocks
(and anything else for that matter)

jesus told us to build our house on the rock
and the rock in this case
is his words.
he called peter a rock.
he said that if the people didn’t praise him,
rocks would praise him instead-
(maybe they already are and we just can’t hear it.)
when he was buried, he was put in a cave-
in a rock.
they rolled another rock over the front of it.

paul was familiar with rocks.
he got them thrown on him
and at him all sorts of times.
he made sure that they were thrown at stephen.

in revelation, it turns out
that foundations of heaven are rocks!
precious stones like emerald and sapphire-
and in heaven jesus will give us a rock!
a white stone with a new name on it.
whoa!

but my favorite comes from peter.
originally named simon,
jesus re-named him peter
or “petros.”
it’s the same greek word that gives us our english word
“petrified.” or “made into rock.”
peter was made into a rock.
the original “rocky.”
and that gives him a unique perspective on rocks:

“as you come to him, the living stone—
rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him—
you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house
to be a holy priesthood,
offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through jesus christ.
for in scripture it says:
"see, i lay a stone in zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame."
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.”
(1 peter 2)

i love that part about us being living stones
built together to be a spiritual house-
being chipped away at and shaped-
fitted together to line up with the cornerstone.

so save the rocks!
especially the spiritual ones.