How Imperial Hotel Survived
In his autobiography, the architect Frank Lloyd Wright tells a story about building the famous Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. During construction, the chairman wanted to remove a large pool from the design to save money. Wright strongly resisted. He insisted that the pool was not a luxury—it was part of the building’s protection system in case of disaster, especially earthquakes and fires. The debate became so intense that Wright even threatened to walk away from the project. In the end, the pool stayed. Two years later, the devastating Great Kantō Earthquake struck Tokyo. Many buildings collapsed or burned. But the Imperial Hotel remained standing. Wright had designed the structure with the right foundation and safeguards. What seemed unnecessary at first turned out to be essential.[1] In many ways, our lives are like that building. When things go well, we may not think much about the foundation. But when the earthquake begins, what we have built our lives upon suddenly matters most.
The Cornerstone
In ancient Israel, especially in the time of the apostles, the cornerstone was the most important stone in the entire building. It was the very first stone placed at the corner of the foundation. Builders selected it carefully, because every other stone in the structure would be measured and aligned from that one stone. If the cornerstone was strong and properly set, the whole building would stand straight and secure. But if the cornerstone was misplaced, the entire structure could become crooked, unstable, and even collapse.
Today’s scripture tells us Jesus is our cornerstone. This means that Jesus is the essential, foundational, and stabilizing stone of our lives. For a Christian, taking Jesus as the cornerstone means putting him at the center of life – allowing him to shape all our decisions, beliefs, values, and actions, rather than trying to fit him into a life we have already built. So receiving Jesus is something like an earthquake. Everything must be reordered. Pastor Tim Keller called it a “life-quake.” He wrote:
“When a great big truck goes over a tiny little bridge, there’s a bridge-quake. When a big man walks onto thin ice, there’s an ice-quake. When Jesus Christ comes into a person’s life, there’s a life-quake. Everything is reordered—your views, convictions, behaviors, and relationships. He may change them; He may not. But at the beginning, you must say, ‘In everything, He must have the supremacy.’”[2]
A Stumbling Stone
Jesus is our cornerstone. But not everyone receives him the same way. The apostle Peter says in 1 Peter 2:6–8 that for those who believe, this stone is precious, a foundation of hope and life. But for those who don’t believe, the same stone becomes a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. In other words, the same cornerstone that holds the building together can also trip those who refuse to walk in its direction. Jesus is not just another stone we can place wherever we like. He sets the line. He determines the direction. If we build our lives aligned with Him, we find stability, purpose, and life. But if we resist Him or try to build around Him, we eventually stumble. So the real question for each of us is this: How are we responding to the cornerstone? Are we aligning our lives with Christ, or are we stumbling over Him?
Tested and Precious
How do we know whether our lives are truly built upon Jesus the cornerstone? Usually we discover it when the earthquake of life comes. Abraham believed in God and loved Him. But one day God said, “Abraham! Take your son Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice.” It did not make sense. Isaac was the son of promise, one and only son, the child God had given Abraham when he was 100. And offering a person as a burnt offering did not seem consistent with God’s character. That was a crisis of faith. Although he didn’t fully understand, Abraham obeyed. When Isaac asked, “Father, where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham said by faith, “My son, God will provide.” Abraham took a leap of faith. Through that obedience, Abraham was saying, “God, you are the most precious cornerstone of my life.”
Recently Joyce and I received a phone call from the DS about a new appointment. We were given 24 hours to discern. Early the next morning, while praying and meditating on scripture, there came a quiet assurance: “Don’t be afraid. Go.” But the first thing that came to my mind was my children’s faces. By God’s grace, our two older children had entered MSSM. They love their school and will be juniors this fall. Our three younger ones were all born here in Houlton and are thriving. So Joyce and I prayed hard for our children. When we shared the news with them, they all wept. “How could you?” “How dare you?” Watching them, my heart felt torn apart. The only thing I could say was, “God will provide.”
The Exchanged Life
The missionary Hudson Taylor faced many trials while serving in China. In those days, all the mission works were done along the coast. No one dared to go inland. But Taylor founded the China Inland Mission (CIM), and by faith he preached the good news to those who lived inland. Travel was dangerous. Foreigners and missionaries were forbidden, feared, and hated. Taylor was often sick, exhausted, and discouraged. In one honest letter to his mother, he admitted that at times he felt he might break down completely.
Later, in another letter to his sister, he described a turning point in his spiritual life. For months he had struggled, praying harder, striving to be stronger, trying to live a holier life. But the more he tried, the more he felt his weakness. Then one day, he received a letter from a fellow missionary, John McCarthy, who wrote: “But how to get faith strengthened? Not by striving after faith, but by resting on the Faithful One.” That simple truth changed everything. Hudson Taylor stopped striving and began abiding – like a branch abiding in the vine. His circumstances did not suddenly become easier, but the foundation of his life had changed. Christ became his cornerstone – his freedom, his joy, and his strength. Often it takes seasons of suffering or crisis to reveal what we are really standing on. But when our lives are built on Christ, we discover that we can stand firm even in the storms.
Ebenezer, Jehovah Jireh
Hudson Taylor kept a plaque in every home where he lived. It read: “Ebenezer, Jehovah-Jireh.” Two names of God.
“Ebenezer” comes from 1 Samuel 7:12. After God saved Israel from the Philistines, Samuel set up a stone and named it Ebenezer, meaning “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” “Jehovah-Jireh” comes from Genesis 22, the story of Abraham and Isaac. When God provided a ram in place of Isaac, Abraham declared "Jehovah Jireh” – the Lord will provide.
Hudson Taylor’s life was full of sorrow. His wife Maria died at age thirty-three. Four of their eight children died before the age of ten. He suffered illness and hardship for many years. Later, during the Boxer Rebellion, fifty-eight of his missionaries were killed, along with thousands of Chinese Christians. Near the end of his life, after hearing another tragic report of martyrdom, Taylor said this: “I cannot read, I cannot think; I cannot even pray; but I can trust.” He trusted the God who had helped him thus far. He trusted the God who will provide.
Are you worried? Are you afraid? Are you tired? Our God is able. Jesus is our cornerstone. Sometimes the building process is painful. But Christ is building us, individually and as a church, into his dwelling place. So may we stop striving and start abiding. The One who has help us thus far will also provide. Amen.
In his autobiography, the architect Frank Lloyd Wright tells a story about building the famous Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. During construction, the chairman wanted to remove a large pool from the design to save money. Wright strongly resisted. He insisted that the pool was not a luxury—it was part of the building’s protection system in case of disaster, especially earthquakes and fires. The debate became so intense that Wright even threatened to walk away from the project. In the end, the pool stayed. Two years later, the devastating Great Kantō Earthquake struck Tokyo. Many buildings collapsed or burned. But the Imperial Hotel remained standing. Wright had designed the structure with the right foundation and safeguards. What seemed unnecessary at first turned out to be essential.[1] In many ways, our lives are like that building. When things go well, we may not think much about the foundation. But when the earthquake begins, what we have built our lives upon suddenly matters most.
The Cornerstone
In ancient Israel, especially in the time of the apostles, the cornerstone was the most important stone in the entire building. It was the very first stone placed at the corner of the foundation. Builders selected it carefully, because every other stone in the structure would be measured and aligned from that one stone. If the cornerstone was strong and properly set, the whole building would stand straight and secure. But if the cornerstone was misplaced, the entire structure could become crooked, unstable, and even collapse.
Today’s scripture tells us Jesus is our cornerstone. This means that Jesus is the essential, foundational, and stabilizing stone of our lives. For a Christian, taking Jesus as the cornerstone means putting him at the center of life – allowing him to shape all our decisions, beliefs, values, and actions, rather than trying to fit him into a life we have already built. So receiving Jesus is something like an earthquake. Everything must be reordered. Pastor Tim Keller called it a “life-quake.” He wrote:
“When a great big truck goes over a tiny little bridge, there’s a bridge-quake. When a big man walks onto thin ice, there’s an ice-quake. When Jesus Christ comes into a person’s life, there’s a life-quake. Everything is reordered—your views, convictions, behaviors, and relationships. He may change them; He may not. But at the beginning, you must say, ‘In everything, He must have the supremacy.’”[2]
A Stumbling Stone
Jesus is our cornerstone. But not everyone receives him the same way. The apostle Peter says in 1 Peter 2:6–8 that for those who believe, this stone is precious, a foundation of hope and life. But for those who don’t believe, the same stone becomes a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. In other words, the same cornerstone that holds the building together can also trip those who refuse to walk in its direction. Jesus is not just another stone we can place wherever we like. He sets the line. He determines the direction. If we build our lives aligned with Him, we find stability, purpose, and life. But if we resist Him or try to build around Him, we eventually stumble. So the real question for each of us is this: How are we responding to the cornerstone? Are we aligning our lives with Christ, or are we stumbling over Him?
Tested and Precious
How do we know whether our lives are truly built upon Jesus the cornerstone? Usually we discover it when the earthquake of life comes. Abraham believed in God and loved Him. But one day God said, “Abraham! Take your son Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice.” It did not make sense. Isaac was the son of promise, one and only son, the child God had given Abraham when he was 100. And offering a person as a burnt offering did not seem consistent with God’s character. That was a crisis of faith. Although he didn’t fully understand, Abraham obeyed. When Isaac asked, “Father, where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham said by faith, “My son, God will provide.” Abraham took a leap of faith. Through that obedience, Abraham was saying, “God, you are the most precious cornerstone of my life.”
Recently Joyce and I received a phone call from the DS about a new appointment. We were given 24 hours to discern. Early the next morning, while praying and meditating on scripture, there came a quiet assurance: “Don’t be afraid. Go.” But the first thing that came to my mind was my children’s faces. By God’s grace, our two older children had entered MSSM. They love their school and will be juniors this fall. Our three younger ones were all born here in Houlton and are thriving. So Joyce and I prayed hard for our children. When we shared the news with them, they all wept. “How could you?” “How dare you?” Watching them, my heart felt torn apart. The only thing I could say was, “God will provide.”
The Exchanged Life
The missionary Hudson Taylor faced many trials while serving in China. In those days, all the mission works were done along the coast. No one dared to go inland. But Taylor founded the China Inland Mission (CIM), and by faith he preached the good news to those who lived inland. Travel was dangerous. Foreigners and missionaries were forbidden, feared, and hated. Taylor was often sick, exhausted, and discouraged. In one honest letter to his mother, he admitted that at times he felt he might break down completely.
Later, in another letter to his sister, he described a turning point in his spiritual life. For months he had struggled, praying harder, striving to be stronger, trying to live a holier life. But the more he tried, the more he felt his weakness. Then one day, he received a letter from a fellow missionary, John McCarthy, who wrote: “But how to get faith strengthened? Not by striving after faith, but by resting on the Faithful One.” That simple truth changed everything. Hudson Taylor stopped striving and began abiding – like a branch abiding in the vine. His circumstances did not suddenly become easier, but the foundation of his life had changed. Christ became his cornerstone – his freedom, his joy, and his strength. Often it takes seasons of suffering or crisis to reveal what we are really standing on. But when our lives are built on Christ, we discover that we can stand firm even in the storms.
Ebenezer, Jehovah Jireh
Hudson Taylor kept a plaque in every home where he lived. It read: “Ebenezer, Jehovah-Jireh.” Two names of God.
“Ebenezer” comes from 1 Samuel 7:12. After God saved Israel from the Philistines, Samuel set up a stone and named it Ebenezer, meaning “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” “Jehovah-Jireh” comes from Genesis 22, the story of Abraham and Isaac. When God provided a ram in place of Isaac, Abraham declared "Jehovah Jireh” – the Lord will provide.
Hudson Taylor’s life was full of sorrow. His wife Maria died at age thirty-three. Four of their eight children died before the age of ten. He suffered illness and hardship for many years. Later, during the Boxer Rebellion, fifty-eight of his missionaries were killed, along with thousands of Chinese Christians. Near the end of his life, after hearing another tragic report of martyrdom, Taylor said this: “I cannot read, I cannot think; I cannot even pray; but I can trust.” He trusted the God who had helped him thus far. He trusted the God who will provide.
Are you worried? Are you afraid? Are you tired? Our God is able. Jesus is our cornerstone. Sometimes the building process is painful. But Christ is building us, individually and as a church, into his dwelling place. So may we stop striving and start abiding. The One who has help us thus far will also provide. Amen.
[1]
Edward Tenner, The Atlantic, “How Tokyo’s Imperial Hotel Survived a 1923
Earthquake,” (April 1, 2011), https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/04/how-tokyos-imperial-hotel-survived-a-1923-earthquake/73306/
[2]
Tim Keller, “The Lordship of Christ Is 'A Life-Quake,”
https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2016/march/3031416.html
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