The older I get, the less I know and the more I realize most everyone knows less than I thought they did. It’s a little shocking to get to middle age and realize older people aren’t always as wise as you assumed. Throughout the years, Psalm 146:3 has been a powerful reminder to me. It says, “Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.” The beautiful people around us—leaders, friends, parents and pastors—are all gifts from the Lord. But they make terrible gods, just like we do.
My perspective changes only when I put my confidence in Jesus. I’m not crushed by hurt because I have access to the perfect Comforter. I’m not afraid of death’s finality because Jesus has overcome it. I’m not enslaved by the opinions of others because I know what Jesus has done and is doing for me. My conscience is freed from self-doubt and navel-gazing because the gospel does not depend on my performance. I don’t have to demand loyalty from others or live in suspicion either.
This is why Paul could boast in his weaknesses in 2 Corinthians. He asked the Lord to free him of hardship, but God reminded Paul that divine strength shines through human frailty. Paul might as well have said, “My weakest point is my strongest position because then my confidence is forced to be in the person and work of Jesus Christ, not myself.” Knowing Jesus moved Paul from being afraid of personal weakness toward gratitude. Paul allowed his weaknesses to expose the reality of God’s goodness, instead of covering it up with feigned strength.
How do we do this? How do we, like Paul, put off failing self-confidence, fear, anxiety, worry, or whatever the struggle is and put on confidence in Christ alone? Scripture answers by pointing us to a surprising image: Jesus, the Perfect Cornerstone.
Shaped by the Cornerstone
Living in a big city brings a whole new importance in understanding the purpose of the cornerstone. When you’re surrounded by buildings that depend on their foundation, you start to understand why Scripture cares so deeply about the cornerstone. Ephesians 2:19-21 says,
So then we are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
The cornerstone in an architectural structure ensures two things: form and stability. It’s the most crucial stone of the entire structure. It’s set in the corner of the building’s foundation, and it ensures that a stone building is going to be the shape intended. It provides structural integrity for the whole building. As the very first stone set in the base, everything else will be set in reference to this one stone. The cornerstone determines the position, the shape, and the direction of the entire structure. Without it, the building will never be formed according to plans.
By calling Jesus the cornerstone, God is telling us that Jesus determines the form and stability of the entire church. If I am a part of the church, if I am one stone among many, then Christ determines my form and stability too. Jesus doesn’t build his church with random materials. He builds it with his creation, people he lovingly formed from dust. This means that we are vital to the sustainability of what God is building. If we don’t know the Cornerstone, then we can’t follow the Cornerstone. This is why it is crucial for us to continue to grow in knowing Jesus. Only then will our lives take the shape God intended.
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True Confidence Begins Where Self-Confidence Ends
Am I good enough? Smart enough? Will I make it? Do I have what it takes? This is precisely what The Secret to Confidence, by Rebekah Hannah, unpacks.
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