Rock
Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 10:1-5
They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
On a shelf in our home, we have a bowl of rocks collected from around the world. They vary in shape and size and color and texture. Though they mean something to us, they probably would not mean much to anyone else.
Paul's image of Jesus as a rock may seem a bit confusing at first. We can understand Jesus as a rock of dependability, but as a "spiritual rock"?
In calling Jesus a spiritual rock, Paul reminds believers that just as God provided water from the rock for his people in the wilderness (see Exodus 17), God continues to provide for his people today. Just as the sustenance in the wilderness came through Jesus, the spiritual rock, so Jesus sustains us today.
Jesus as our spiritual rock is a great comfort indeed. But there's also a challenge in this image of the spiritual rock. Despite the food and drink provided in the wilderness, the Israelites failed to trust and obey God. Paul uses their failure as a warning and a challenge to the Corinthians and to us. God provides, but we must trust and obey.
Today, as you go about your life, keep your mind and heart focused on the spiritual food and drink that Jesus provides, and then, step by step, trust and obey.
Lord Jesus, our spiritual rock, help us to trust you as our only source of strength and to follow you in loving service today and always. Amen.
About the author — Kurt Selles
Kurt Selles is the director of ReFrame Ministries and serves as the Executive Editor of Today. He is a graduate of Calvin College and Seminary, and received his PhD from Vanderbilt University. Before coming to ReFrame, he served 19 years in Taiwan and China with CRC World Missions. Kurt later taught missions at Beeson Divinity School, where he also acted as the director of the school’s Global Center. Kurt and his wife, Vicki, reside in Grand Rapids and have three adult children.
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