Sure Foundation
“For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” – 1 Corinthians 3:11
In 1917, the prominent architect Frank Lloyd Wright was given the challenge of building the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, one of the most earthquake-prone cities in the world.
Wright’s investigation showed that a solid foundation could be “floated” on a 60-foot layer of soft mud underlying the hotel, which would provide a shock-absorbing but solid support for the immense building.
Despite numerous construction delays, Wright’s Imperial Hotel opened on September 1st, 1923.
That same day the great Kanto earthquake would devastate Tokyo and the surrounding area. Having left Japan in the fall of 1922, Wright was in Los Angeles at the time. It would be ten long days of conflicting reports before confirmation was received that the hotel still stood. Finally, a dramatic telegram from Tokyo by Baron Okura, the key financial promoter of the Imperial Hotel, arrived proclaiming,
“Hotel stands undamaged as monument of your genius. Hundreds of homeless provided by perfectly maintained service. Congratulations. Okura.”
The only perfect foundation, the one that will hold through any of life’s storms, is Jesus Christ. He is the sure cornerstone.
“So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed.” – Isaiah 28:16