The tale of three buildings - part 1

This. False fronts. What this architectural concept represents has haunted me, since well, most of my life. From the moment I realized God sees everything, I wanted to make sure what I present to the world matches up exactly with what’s going on all the way though me. As I grew closer to my creator the awkwardness of knowing I’m seen pooping, picking my nose and having sex lessens. However the sentiment remains. I desire authenticity. I feel split and my peace is stripped when I am anything but. 

I used to think the verse ‘whatever is hidden will be made known’ was about a vindictive God who, in the end, tells everyone all my nasty secrets. As with most confusing scripture, if we dig deep enough and place the words in the context of the time and culture, we discover that the ‘hidden become known’ verse isn’t what it seems. It is likely written to correct the idea that was being thrown around that understanding and revelations occurred when you reached new levels of ‘enlightenment’ or ‘advancement’ in Christianity, as was a common phenomenon in many religions of the day. 

Jesus was simply saying, ‘nah, I’ve revealed it all to you, here now is the simple truth of my grace that everyone can understand, I’m not hiding anything - I’m sitting this lamp on a stand for all to see - why would I hide it? All are welcome at my table’ (paraphrased drastically) 

Still, this building made me shudder. God sees our hearts. There is no false front that fools Him. 

When earthquakes hit and the buildings siding us crumble - there’ll be some awkwardness if our ugly back end doesn’t match the glorious ornate front we’ve been putting out there. 

I for one would rather be the most ugly messy house on the street with the surprisingly lovely interior than this false front.