Are you a little "off"?...

Ephesians 2:20  "... Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone,  in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit."

I'm not a mason.  I usually work with wood instead of stone, but I have occasionally tried my hand at laying brick.  In one of our remodels, I had to raise the height of the chimney to correspond with the increased pitch of the roof.  I did a fair job, but a trained eye would immediately notice the difference between the old and new.  I learned the importance of carefully following the angles and position of the the bricks upon which I built.

Paul, in describing the foundation upon which the church (and our individual lives) is built, calls Jesus the cornerstone.  The term refers to the most important stone in the building.  The cornerstone is set at the top of the foundation, in a critical corner.  Its position and angles must be perfect because the rest of the building is keyed to it.  If the cornerstone is imperfect, if its angles are not square, the walls will be "off".

So it is with us, so it is with the church.  If we align ourselves with a cornerstone other than Jesus Christ, everything else will be skewed, misshapen.  I must be careful in what I believe, in the choices I make, in the paths I follow, to constantly be checking the Cornerstone.  I must align myself with Who He is, what He says, and what He does.  I want Jesus to determine the shape of my building.

Dear Lord, I am grateful that You are my Cornerstone.  Please keep me focused on You.  Holy Spirit, thank You for being my "building inspector".   Please warn me when I am not properly aligned.   I want to build according to Your code today.  I want to pass the final inspection when I stand before my Savior.  Amen.