ROCKY ROAD (Matthew 21)

ROCKY ROAD

Whoever stumbles on this Stone gets shattered; whoever the Stone falls on gets smashed. (Matthew 21:44 Message)

Rocks: Good or bad?

It depends. Maybe you ran into a rock with a bicycle and fell. Maybe a rock hit your windshield and it cracked. For thousands of year, people have used rocks as murder weapons and catapulted them in times of war. Stoning was the official manner of capital punishment in ancient Israel.

No wonder Jesus speaks of Himself as shattering and smashing those who don’t believe in Him.

But, wait a minute. Isn’t God described as the Rock who shelters believers? David used that image a lot, like this one: “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” (Psalm 18:2, NIV)

The definitions of rock and rocky suggest a similar dichotomy: A rock may cause you to shake violently or to be upset. It may also mean moving forward at a steady pace or to be extremely effective.

Think about figures of speech:

·         Rock the boat

·         Rock-and-roll

·         Rocky road

·         Rock solid

·         Rock bottom

·         Rock hard

·         Rock climbing

·         Stone cold

·         A “rock,” referring to the size of a diamond in a ring

Maybe when we stand on the rock, we feel invincible. Underneath the rock, we are hopelessly crushed.

Last summer, I got caught up in the TV program, “The Hero,” hosted by the actor known as (what else?) the Rock. After an exercise that tested physical strength, I almost turned it off. There’s more to being a hero than having John Elway’s physique.

I’m glad I didn’t. That same episode, a middle-aged house mom walked stairs without rails at the top of a skyscraper. Earlier in the episode we had learned she was afraid of heights.

But the Rock had called her, and she would answer. She took a step. “I won’t let fear defeat me.” She took a second step, repeated her affirmation, and continued until she reached the top step.

I fell in love with her, and so did America. The show later went on to test other hero attributes such as mental alertness, problem solving, team work, honesty, and communication.

Someone you could trust. A rock.

God is that kind of Rock times a thousand.

Is God the Rock on which we stand—or are you in the path of His rockslide?