The Sand and the Rock

By Elizabeth Prata

I grew up in The Ocean State, Rhode Island. Yes, it's small, really small. You're never far from the ocean. My grandparents had a summer house on Narragansett Bay and we were there constantly in the summer, every weekend. When I got older my mother let me ride my bike the 3 miles to their house. I'd spend all day in the water or on the sand.

Venice Beach, FL. Photo by EPrata

We also used to rent a house on Cape Cod in the summer and again, the beach figured prominently in the daily activities. When I became an adult, all that beachiness instilled in my impressionable veins carried through and I chose the beach at Lubec again for my annual week's vacation in July.

The beach at Lubec is on the easternmost part of Maine which is known as the rockbound coast. Lots of rocks. Lots and lots. Sand is rare, mostly it's rocks.

East Quoddy Lighthouse, Campobello, New Brunswick Canada (Across from Lubec ME)

I remember as a kid, I loved to stand where the water met the sand. I'd stand there and stand there, enjoying the calming rhythm of the waves coming in and out, swirling around my ankles, the sun on my shoulders, the warmth of the sand and coolness of the water all at once. But I was puzzled at how even though I didn't move, my feet sunk into the sand as each wavelet caved around my feet. Why are my feet sinking? Why are there little holes of sand where my feet used to be?

Sand is unstable. Rock is stable.

I know you see where this is going. If you've ever done that, stand on a sand beach and let your feet sink, you know how unstable it is. If you've ever walked on a rock jetty or a rocky beach, or traipsed up a mountain and stood on the rock outcropping, you know how relieved your feet are to stand on something solid.

Jesus is the Rock.

And all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. (1 Corinthians 10:4).

Jesus is the Rock.

Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, (Ephesians 2:20).

What does a cornerstone do? How important is a cornerstone?

The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. (source)

For it stands in Scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." (1 Peter 2:6)

Our lives are unstable. Our lives are governed by weak flesh, we are bending reeds, children striving after wind, and grass that withers. After salvation we still have the flesh problem, the sin problem, and the partially darkened mind problem. We need stability. Jesus is that stability. He never changes. He never sinks. He never bends. He is the Rock.

Return often to the Rock. Stand upon Him, secure and strong. His fortress will not be shaken and the cornerstone will never crumble.

Praise Him that He gives us Himself!