The Cornerstone of What?

I have heard songs and sayings about Jesus being the Cornerstone for as long as I can remember. I never really thought about the fact that I did not know for certain what He was the Cornerstone of. I kind of thought that He is the foundation and cornerstone of our lives as Christians. This morning I had a simple revelation when I was reading Ephesians 2:19-21.

"So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household,having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord"

Just before this passage the chapter is talking about how Jesus opened the way for non-Jews to join God's chosen people in His family. We were excluded according to the Old Testament law. There was argument, enmity, and war between the Israelites and those who were not Israelites. In the sacrifice of Jesus, both groups had access to God's presence, relationship, and family.

Two groups who could not get along were now a part of the same house. Jesus is the Cornerstone of that great house - His Church. We are fit together on the basis of what He did for us and can live in peace with one another as God's sons and daughters.

We were like a blended family whose children fight all the time. Then the head of the family, the father, does something so sacrificial in His love for the whole group, that they join together in gratitude and love for the one person, learning that all along they had more in common than they ever would have thought.

God's design for restoration and relationship is revealed yet again in this picture of a house where Jesus is the Cornerstone. We are His plan and purpose, the desire of His heart, the project He is building with His hands.