From worthless to wonderful

‘The stone which the builders rejected as worthless
   turned out to be the most important of all.
This was done by the Lord;
   what a wonderful sight it is!’   (verses 10b, 11)

Read Mark 12:1-12

In the parable before these verses, Jesus announces what is about to become a reality for him in Jerusalem. As God’s ‘own dear son’ (Mark 12:6) he is to be ‘rejected as worthless’ and killed.

If Jesus’ life had ended there, all his teaching and all his miracles would have been ‘worthless’. But God was not content to sit back and watch his ‘own dear son’ be treated as worthless. God raised Jesus from the dead. What appears on the surface to be a hopeless tragedy turns out to be a ‘wonderful sight’.

God turns what seems most worthless into the most important of all. Because you are God’s own dear child, God is not content to have you rejected as ‘worthless’. Just as he vindicated his Son Jesus by raising him from the dead, so he is active in you through his life-giving Spirit, turning what appears ‘worthless’ into ‘the most important of all’.

Heavenly Father, give me eyes to see that what you have done for me in Jesus is truly wonderful. Amen.

by Adam Cooper, in ‘New Strength for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 1998)

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