Are You a Fake Facade?

Remember when automobile bumpers were real steal that one could hook a chain to and help a neighbor out of a ditch? The wonderful age of plasticized molded materials have taken over with factitious facades resembling bumpers that just rip right off if pressure is applied in the wrong way – Useless! Close examination is vital in everything these days. Brick isn’t brick; hardwood isn’t hardwood; and plastic abounds everywhere.

Christopher Wren (1632-1723) was a well educated scholar of Wadham College, Oxford, England. His scholastic achievements included physics, astronomy, mathematics and architecture.  It is his architecture abilities that he is most well known for. Following the Great Fire that gutted the medieval section of London, September 2-5, 1666, which destroyed 13,200 houses and 87 church buildings, Wren was commissioned by the then King Charles II to design and help rebuild that part of the city. His designs were used to rebuild 52 church buildings, one of which included the rebuilding of St. Paul’s Cathedral taking 35 years to finish. Like he had nothing else to do, in approximately 1688 Wren, was commissioned by the Windsor town councilors to build the Windsor Guildhall. The ground floor of this building is completely open, with the main part of the building, a second floor, being supported by 18 pillars around the edge. This open space at ground level was designed to be used as a public market. When the town councilors saw what Wren intended to do, they (in their infinite architectural wisdom) protested to the great architect that his design would never work. Eighteen pillars would not be enough to support the weight of the building, and the whole thing would collapse. Wren insisted that his design was solid and safe, and an argument ensued. The upshot of it all was, Wren agreed to add four more columns into his design. But he had the last laugh. When he designed the four inner pillars, he deliberately designed them to be two inches too short; the tops of the columns do not even touch the beams of the ceiling. They bear no weight at all! Over the centuries, many people have had a good laugh at Christopher Wren's subtle jab at the town councilors (although today, if you visited the guildhall you would discover that at some point wooden shims have been placed above the pillars, so they really do bear weight.) But Christopher Wren obviously knew what he was doing; for centuries this building stood strong and tall without those center columns supporting any weight. (Wikipedia; Encyclopedia Britannica; Biblical Illustrations.com)

[1 Peter 2:4-12] The book of I Peter describes the church as a building ...not made of stone, but of living stone “...you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house”. We, as Christians, make up the structure of the church (1 Corinthians 3:9; 1 Timothy 3:14-15). Just as men rejected and disbelieved Christopher Wren's architectural plans, much of mankind has rejected the foundation, Jesus Christ, (1 Corinthians 3:11) upon which God is building His church. But our foundation is a foundation which will never disappoint, and the structure built on that foundation will never collapse (Luke 6:46-49). But God is not like Christopher Wren. God has not put any "useless" columns in His church. We are all being fitted together (Ephesians 2:19-22) “...to become a holy temple in the Lord”. There are no useless or unimportant parts in God's building. We each have a part to play, a work to do, a section of the building to support (Ephesians 4:11-16). And when we choose not to do our part, the whole building suffers - Useless!