In his letter to early churches, Peter creates a metaphor of what church communities could look like. He writes:
“Come to him [Jesus], a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
There isn’t any conformity in a house made of stones. Each has its own shape, its own design, it’s own texture that help make the whole strong and beautiful.
We are a church made up of different stones. We don’t all think alike, we don’t all look alike, we don’t all vote alike. But we do agree that Jesus is our cornerstone, our Savior, and a model for how we ought to treat one another, loving God and loving people. Every stone added to our structure changes us a little bit. And for that, we rejoice.