¹⁷ “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it.” Revelation 2:17 (NLT)

In Bible Study this week we talked about this verse. In particular, we talked about the white stone.

White stones were considered a covenant stone. A promise. A gift. In a court of law a white stone meant not guilty. These white stones were given to victors in an athletic event. This stone allowed them to participate in the victory parties held after the games. People who were honored were given a white stone with a message written on it. The white stone is a wonderful thing. When we are called to heaven as the Bride of Christ, we will receive a white stone. This stone will have a new name written on it, that only the Lord and I will understand.

After talking about this stone, I passed around some white stones I found in our driveway. This was something tangible to hold onto and remind ourselves of. The stones I passed around were not smooth. Some had some variations of colors in them. I had bleached the stones to get the dirt from the driveway off of them.

When we accept our Lord as our Savior, we are made white as snow (bleached) by the shed blood of our Lord. When we meet Him, as His Bride, we will receive a smooth and glorious stone, although now, our stone is not perfect. We are still preparing ourselves to receive that stone, so we have a few rough edges and some variations deep in us.

But, someday those rough edges will be made smooth. Our only color will be white . We will be able to meet our Bridegroom, Jesus, where He will gift us with a covenant stone. This stone will indeed be special as He will honor us as only He can. The stone we receive will have an intimate name that only the Lord and I will understand.

What I think this may be, in my limited knowledge is an endearing name, that will describe our journey of faith and life. I love how a simple white stone that we often trample under our feet is a symbol of a precious gift from our Lord. I don’t think I will view them in the same way again.