This week at Riverside Community Church we are hosting our annual Christmas musical. This year it involved the assembly of a stable and manger for a “live” nativity. So after rummaging through our quite large and dangerous pile of wood from productions past, I was able to locate the materials we need to build our stable.

The wood was significantly dinged up.. It had mold on it.. The stable was fairly rickety after we put it together.. But then I thought, well it’s perfect.. It’s “rustic.” We aren’t going for a clean-cut and perfect facade – we really are trying to achieve the look of an old worn-out and broken stable.

I think about my own faith. I often find myself going through various processes to produce a clean-cut and perfect facade in the construction of my life – but why? There’s nothing wrong with cleaning up the brokenness in my life (or better yet allowing God to do the cleanup); but rather than putting on a facade, why can’t we – I mean – why can’t I show my brokenness as it really is and take a lesson from the humble servant?

Not rewriting theology here, just posing a question to you that I ask myself – is it possible to stop white-washing and waxing over our broken lives and let the imperfections show through? And as we allow the Craftsman to do His renovation in plain view of the public, is that an acceptable “witness” to those around us?