On the 23rdMay 2014 the Glasgow School of Art was devasted by a fire started by a small canister of expanding foam. Opened in 1909 and regarded as the masterwork of designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh, those who knew the building were devastated. Despite extensive damage there was no question of the building being pulled down, and work towards its restoration began almost immediately. Four years on and with the £35m restoration project nearing completion another fire took hold of the building. This time the damage was far worse, and not only was all the restoration work lost, but the building itself was now in danger of collapse. But once again those who loved the building could not contemplate its loss, and even with a new price tag of £110m, the desire to see it saved was a strong as ever.
All of this speaks volumes about the power of love to want to rescue and restore and to be prepared to pay almost any price in order to do so; and if human beings can summon such love to save a building, how much more might a God of love be prepared to do in order to save His creation that has been almost ‘burned to the ground’ through our sin and selfishness?
