No props needed …

Because we can’t see God, we sometimes have a hard time trusting Him with the entire support of our lives.

Human beings have struggled with this issue throughout history, and often respond to it by adding visual supports, something they can see as means of support to their lives.

Doing so is much like the story of the Windsor city fathers in the 17th century who commissioned famed architect Sir Christopher Wren, designer of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, to design a new town hall. The building was completed as desired except for one exception.

The city fathers wanted their meeting room above a “corn market” — an open space for farmers to display and sell their products. But when they inspected the new building they were alarmed. Wren had used a new technique for supporting the floor/ceiling below the meeting space and above the corn market that required no pillars (except, of course, at the edges). To the city fathers and others, it seemed obvious that the ceiling of the corn market would soon fall under their weight as they met above it.

The city fathers insisted Wren add four pillars in the middle of the corn market to support the floor of their meeting room above. Wren refused; the added pillars would destroy the beauty of the building. He adamantly insisted his design would work; the ceiling of the corn market was in no danger of collapsing. The city fathers were more adamant; the pillars must be added. Wren reluctantly agreed and everyone watched over the next few months as his workmen created the required four pillars.

Some years after the building’s celebrated dedication the corn market ceiling needed re-painting. As workmen erected their scaffolds they noticed something strange. Wren’s pillars did not touch the ceiling. The space between their tops and the ceiling was so small as to not be noticeable without close inspection. The ceiling had long stood by the design of its master builder rather than the false support insisted upon by the city fathers. Wren was dead by the time this was discovered. The city fathers then added material to fill the gaps “just in case.”

We’re a lot like those city fathers. God has created something beautiful with our lives, but because we can’t always literally see His supporting our very existence, we insist on bringing in other things to “prop up” our lives. But whatever we add to God’s design are just faux pillars, they accomplish nothing of value in our lives.

What are you relying on to sustain your life — your Master Builder (God), or the phony props you’ve added?

“For the life of every living thing is in his hand, and the breath of every humans being,” Job 12:10.

“For nothing is impossible with God,” Luke 1:37.

“And it is impossible to please God without faith …” Hebrews 11:6.

Scotty