Hebrews 3:3b-4

"He who built the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God."

The granite and glass clad sawtoothed, cylindrically shaped tower rising 50 stories above 'ground zero' in the heart of San Francisco's financial district is the office residence of some 4,000 workers that spend upwards of five out of every seven days of the week in. I am one among them. In my real estate professional circles, the vernacular describing its 101 California address is "trophy". It is considered by many as the most distinguished building in San Francisco, and perhaps even the West Coast. Its architects were the renowned Phillip Johnson and John Burgee. They are indeed worthy of great honor, those brilliant minds that envisioned and designed such artful beauty that cuts through the plain vanilla squares and rectangles scattered across the city-map of the gateway to the golden hills of California's Bay Area. Few know who these men are/were, as 101 California is simply known by most as '101 California'. Over time they've lost some notoriety as the structure ages but increases in stature as the premier office location in the City. How soon we all forget, or how sadly many may never know.

Honoring the edifice over its builder is dishonoring. Dishonoring because its origins, its nacent fabrication had a beginning, and without that beginning an end could never be achieved. Human nature is inclined to forget. We like what we see, and we forget what we cannot see. This is why monuments serve such an instrumental purpose in our cultural remembrance. They bring us back to the roots, and they help us remember who and what conspired and transpired at that place at that moment in time.

The world and all that is in it had an origin, it had a beginning. It's no coincidence that the Holy Writ starts its opening words with, "In the beginning...". (Genesis 1:1) It reminds us that there was a Creator, and all that is and ever was was designed and built by somebody, by someone. That Someone deserves honor, much more than the creation ever deserves. But we've become worshipers of the creation over the Creator. God said this would happen, and sure enough... (cf. Romans 1:25) I fall prey to this temptation myself, so the idiot that I am needs reminders; I need memorials to bring me back to ground zero.

My memorial to God shall be my body. I cannot run from it; I'm encased within it. My body is not my own. (I Corinthians 6:19) It was created by Him. Every time I look at my epidermis today, I ask God to bring to fire my synapses so that I recall that it is He who is worthy of honor, not me. He is worthy of accolade, not me. He is worthy of respect, not me. 'Help me God to look at my frame today and be reminded not of me, but of You.' Today the mirror is my friend.