On this day in 1793, President
George Washington lays the cornerstone for the US Capital
Building. Prior to this, the US government had met in 8 different
cities but land was provided between Maryland and Virginia to be the future
capital of the United States. Congress passed the Residence Act in
1790 officially designating the District of Columbia as the capital of the
United States. With the location of the capital established it
was now necessary to build a place to house the government. Thomas Jefferson
held a competition for the best design. The winner was an amateur
architect named Dr. William Thornton. His
prize? $500. Progress started on the building but
Congress wasn’t officially able to first meet in the building until the year
1800 and even then only the North Wing was complete. The structure
continued to endure expansions and changes until it was burned by the British
in the year 1814. The building would have burned entirely to the
ground if it was not for a well-timed storm. The gutted structure
underwent major reconstruction and would finally be used again in 1819 (but not
fully until 1829). Ironically the building went through
one of its most extensive expansions during the years prior to the Civil
War. The building has continued to change over the course of the
years. The statue at the top of the dome (the statue represents
freedom) was placed in 1863, electricity was installed starting in the year
1890, and continues to be remodeled and reworked. Today the capital
has 540 rooms. The iconic dome is nearly 9 million pounds of cast
iron. Millions of visitors each year visit to see the two chambers
of Congress. The chamber that houses the 435 members of the House of
Representatives sits on the left while the chamber that houses the 100 members
of the Senate sits on the right. Between them is the famous
‘Rotunda.’
The cornerstone is of the utmost importance in a building.
It is the first stone that is set and all other stones are set in reference to
that single stone. In older structures, the purpose of the cornerstone
was to be the main support, to bear the weight of the building. It’s hard
to compete against Washington laying the cornerstone of the capital, but there
is a far more famous and important cornerstone. Psalm 118:22 says “The
stone which the builders rejected has become the chief
cornerstone.” That verse would have been extremely difficult to
understand when it was written. People would ask, what stone was
rejected? Who is the stone? And how does the rejected stone become
the cornerstone? For years this verse would have been a mystery; that is
until the time of Christ. In Matthew 21 Jesus affirms that He is the
stone that was rejected and indeed Jesus was rejected. His own people,
the nation of Israel, rejected and refused Him. Not only rejected Him but
demanded His death. The Apostle Paul reaffirms that Christ is the
cornerstone in Ephesians 2:19-22 when he writes “Jesus Christ Himself being the
chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows
into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a
dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” Jesus is unquestionably the
cornerstone. He is the one upon which we build our lives. Like the
cornerstone of a building, we are supposed to do everything in reference to
Christ our foundation. Also, like the cornerstone, Christ bears the full
weight for every one of us. He bears and carries our burdens. Ask
yourself this vital question today, is my life built on the Cornerstone?
Are my words, actions, and responses based in reference to that
Cornerstone? The old hymnist said, “on Christ the solid rock I stand, all
other ground is sinking sand.” True, I think Scripturally we do not stand
on Christ the rock, we are BUILT and anchored to the rock which is Jesus.
No comments:
Post a Comment