The stones

             I recall the days when I would get a “love note” from a particular person. I would take the note and read it again and again. I wanted to know everything about that note and the intent of the person who wrote it. I would be just as intrigued by what was not said as by what was said. I would ask my self as to what the girl was really saying to me. The words on the paper would become faded over time simply by being read over and over again. If I was not careful, the creases of the letter would cause it to fall apart. Sure, it was just a collection of words put into sentences but did she really mean by those words. We often seek to find the meaning of things in our lives. Joshua 4:21-22 says, “And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.” 

           There was an action that took place in Israel when something important happened. It would be marked simply by a standing stone. Stones don't usually stand up erect by themselves and so one that was upright would be so for a particular reason. When Israel marched into the Promised land and was crossing the Jordan River, the water parted just as it had done for Moses when he led the people through the Dead Sea on dry ground. In the days of Joshua, they marked the event with some “standing stones.” Stones that were erect wold invoke the question, “Why are these stones standing upright?” Then, the people could relate the store of what happened that day when Israel marched over the Jordan River. There are other examples of “standing stones” in the Old Testament which spoke of certain events that took place on that spot. The standing stones are becoming fewer and fewer as the days go by as there are those that would tear down all standing stones that would remind them of something in their history. In our day, the standing stones become people. The stones are the testimonies of those whose lives have been changed by God and by His Word. Each converted person is a personal testimony of what God has done in their life. In most cases, that conversion experience is unique only to that individual. The Apostle Paul was converted while on the road to Damascus. I was converted in Tennessee in a motel room. Every believer has a testimony as to their conversion. The standing stones today are those whose lives have been changed by the Savior. It can be questioned today as to what took place to make a person a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. The answer will be in their personal testimony as to what happened to them. I used to go to bed listening to the testimonies from the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago, Illinois. Every night would be another testimony of one who had been lost and then became saved by the Lord Jesus Christ. All of the stories were unique and it could just as well be said, “What happened here?” In all of the accounts, Christ changed their lives. In some ways, you and I are standing stones in our part of the world that should stand out so people will ask, “What happened here?” Praise God that He still calls and converts souls today.