If you have ever been to see Plymouth Rock, there is a phrase you will hear said very sarcastically, “That’s a big rock!” There is a lot of urban legend, time, and wear and tear that has happened to the Plymouth Rock! Bottom line, it is not very big. It probably was when the pilgrims landed, but what is there now is NOT a big rock!
DR. Stephen Covey, however, tells a story about big rocks. It goes like this…
One day this expert was speaking to a group of business students and to drive home a point, used an illustration I’m sure those students will never forget. After I share it with you, you’ll never forget it either. As this man stood in front of the group of high-powered over-achievers he said,
“Okay, time for a quiz.”
Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed Mason jar and set it on a table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, “Is this jar full?”
Everyone in the class said, “Yes.” Then he said, “Really?” He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. Then he smiled and asked the group once more, “Is the jar full?”
By this time the class was onto him. “Probably not,” one of them answered. “Good!” he replied. And he reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, “Is this jar full?”
“No!” the class shouted. Once again he said, “Good!” Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked up at the class and asked, “What is the point of this illustration?”
One eager beaver raised his hand and said, “The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit some more things into it!” “No,” the speaker replied, “that’s not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is: If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all.”
What are the big rocks in your life? A project that you want to accomplish? Time with your loved ones? Your faith? Your education? Your finances? A cause? Teaching or mentoring others? Remember to put these Big Rocks in first or you’ll never get them in at all.
Dr. Covey echoes a principle that Jesus spoke about in Matt. 6:33…
“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.”
So often in life we try to fill our lives, well, let me speak of what I have tried to fill my life with: Success, sports, things, position, acceptance, strength, on the list goes. All of these things are good in and of their own right; but like water, things that will eventually evaporate––here today, gone tomorrow. Water, sand, small rocks!
When we put Jesus at the top of the Rock List! The Big Rock – the Cornerstone, we will lack nothing. We will not have to convince ourselves, we will not have to lie to ourselves; in time – through faith – we will see that the Big Rock is Jesus! Acts 4:11 (NLT) “11 For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’