The Cornerstone

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to become possessive about the things in our possession—our time, talents, resources, even our plans for the future? Sometimes, we start to live for these things, rather than seeing them as gifts entrusted to us by God.

In Mark 12:1-12, Jesus tells the parable of the wicked tenants. In this story, the tenants reject the owner’s authority and try to take the vineyard for themselves. Many servants are sent by the owner, and all abused. Yet there is one last person sent. We read, 

[6] He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ [7] But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ [8] And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. [9] What will the owner of the vineyard do? (Mark 12:6-9, ESV)

The leaders of the day forgot that "every good and perfect gift is from above" and were in turn owned by the blessings they were given. They knew the parable was about them, yet did not heed the warning from the cornerstone.

But how does this passage speak to us today?