Before I married my husband, I assumed there were “ugly houses” and “pretty houses,” and that was that. But Matt is an architect, someone who reads books with titles like “A Field Guide to American Houses” for fun and who uses the term vernacular architecture like he knows what it means.
 
Through him, I’ve come to learn a lot about why certain structures simply don’t have a pleasing look. There is a logic to ugliness, as it turns out. One of the main reasons a building or a home might strike some of us as ugly is because it has undergone a careless renovation. Whether out of laziness or an effort to be cost-effective, additions are made that depart from the architectural style of the original structure. The result is slapdash, confusing — ugly, for lack of a better word.
 
What is added on later must somewhat resemble the original. If you want to depart dramatically from the original style of a building, it’s better to build a separate structure altogether.
 
I think of this principle when I consider Christ as the “cornerstone.” We know we are called to model ourselves on Christ, to build on his example. But so often we cherry-pick elements of his message and attempt to build on it with additions that make no sense.  
 
When someone looks at us, at our lives, they should be able to tell after whom that life is patterned. We must resemble the cornerstone, if we do not, it will be apparent, unseemly. You can’t see God the Father without embracing God the Son. You can’t chart the future of a house without any thought for its past.
 
If Christ is not our inspiration, he will be our contradiction.
 
“...like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house…to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” — 1 Peter 2:5