Press the arrow to listen to Mercy Me sing “You Reign” while reading today’s devotion about living with imperfections.

Scripture
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone,
A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed.
He who believes in it will not be disturbed. Isaiah 26:16

Observation
There are many disturbing things in the city of God. The church is not a perfect place because people are in it. The local church is an odd blend of high ideals and broken lives. We are right to have high expectations because God has given us a grand vision and the power to accomplish it. But we are nothing more than clay models made from the dust of the ground and so we don’t live up to expectations.

When we are disturbed about problems in Zion, it is tempting to take matters into our own hands. In some broken down part of the city we begin to throw up a speedy wall to shore up the city. But our haste and lack of planning is visible by how out of place our human efforts look in the overall city plan.

Application
Instead, we are to build on the cornerstone. When a mason lays a new wall he first puts in a starting block. Every block and course emanates from that first brick. A new section cannot be thrown up on its own. Instead it must start with the cornerstone. Jesus is building is church and what looks right and lasts is built on him. In panic or good intentions, we are not to throw up temporary solutions. Instead, we are to find where Jesus is building and align everything we do with that.

Prayer
Father, today, show me where Jesus is building his church and let all I add on be right on the string line of his purposes. Amen.