The Architect Who Was There From the Beginning

When Christopher Wren stood in the charred ruins of old St. Paul's Cathedral after the Great Fire of London in 1666, he already carried the finished vision in his mind. For thirty-five years, from the first foundation stone laid in 1675 to the final stone set in 1710, Wren was present. He walked the scaffolding. He revised the drawings. He argued with parliament and persuaded kings. He watched each column rise and each dome take shape, not as a distant observer but as one who delighted in every detail of the emerging masterpiece.

His son later recalled that in his final years, Wren would have himself carried to the cathedral simply to sit beneath the great dome — the master craftsman rejoicing in his completed work.

This is the portrait Solomon paints of Wisdom in Proverbs 8. Before the mountains were settled, before the springs burst forth, before the first dust of the earth was formed, Wisdom was there — "the craftsman at His side," rejoicing in the whole world and delighting in the human race. Wisdom did not arrive late to inspect a finished product. She was present at the foundation, intimate with every detail of creation.

And just as Wren called out publicly for London to rebuild wisely, so Wisdom cries aloud at the city gates, on the heights, at the crossroads — inviting every person to listen. The Almighty's Wisdom is not hidden. She stands in the open, arms wide, calling your name.