Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall. So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.

“… everything that does not come from faith is sin.” This is such a weighty statement. Were I to take this statement as a comb, and go through the actions of my life, how much sin would I find? We sometimes make justifications for our sin, like: “the situation I was in wasn’t fair”, “everyone else does it”, or “they deserved it”. However, God has a different lens when he looks at sin than this world does. In this chapter, much of the focus has been on what food we eat. The Jews were told as a people not to eat certain food types. (This was before Peter was instructed in a vision by God that all food is good.) Paul’s point here was that it is not a sin to eat certain food if in your heart you do it without intent to harm another or dishonor God. But it is a sin to look down on others for their customs. We are to focus on building up their faith, not tearing it down. I was praying with a woman with a heavy burden at church this last Sunday. I could tell she felt alone and betrayed. And God’s Spirit gave me these verses to pray over her: “As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (I Peter‬ ‭2:4-5‬)

What I love about this picture of us as living stones, supported by Jesus Christ the cornerstone, is that we also get to support each other. Each stone provides support and protection for the others in a building. It is the same with our faith. I told this lady that coming up for prayer was the right move, and that this is how we can gain support from God — through his church. We are brothers and sisters for eternity … we need to act like it and not just get along but support and build each other up!

Thank you, Lord, for this great passage. May I look to my right and to my left and find people to encourage in their faith today!