What is a Rare Rock?

When I first heard the title Rare Rocks, I was eating a greasy appetizer in a smoke filled coffee shop. My friend Mike applied the title to my best friend and me in the middle of our late night conversation.  Rare Rocks was Mike’s paraphrase of the Scripture where Peter refers to believers as” living stones.” I’ve never forgotten that phrase (or Mike for speaking it over my life) and since then I’ve spent some time researching precious stones in the Bible. I love the poetic imagery of gems in the Book of Revelation. It describes the Heavenly City being made of clear, beautiful stones. By using these analogies together, we can imagine the building Peter envisioned as a shimmering tower of beauty – not a foreboding pile of dull bricks!

In real life a precious stone as three distinguishing characteristics: 1) they are strong, 2) they are beautiful, and 3) they are rare. Men and women who live authentic lives of transforming faith would fit into each of these categories! What separates a plain rock from a precious stone – besides the natural mineral content of the rock – is a process of refinement. Gems are rough stones that have submitted to cutting, polishing, and displaying. We do the same things with our lives when we embrace an intentional process of spiritual growth in our daily lives. We can become Rare Rocks!

This blog is full of my musings on what it means to be a Rare Rock. It is also about my experiences with Rare Rocks that I know or read about or meet.

“The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone….”

Revelation 21:19-21

“And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple.”

I Peter 2:5

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