Refinishing: Furniture and Christianity

I love re-finishing old furniture. There is just something about taking an old neglected, over- used piece of furniture and making it look new that gives me a feeling of having done something worthwhile.
When I start, these old pieces of furniture look nothing like they did when they were first made. They have been altered by each current owner to look the way they want it to. One owner wants it white, so they paint it white. The next owner wants it to be black, so they paint over the white paint. Then one owner wants different hardware on it, so they switch it out with something that is more pleasing to their eye. After time the piece that was originally made to be beautiful in the builders eye has become nothing like it was designed. It just looks like an old worn out piece of something that may have once been a work of art.
In order to re-finish it, the first task is to start stripping away the layers of old paint. This is usually a hard task. Sometimes a paint stripper needs to be used over and over to strip away each layer until the bare wood can be seen. This is my least favorite part because normally it involves a lot of hard work stripping and sanding the layers away. With me, that also brings up the very probable chance that there will be blood drawn from my well intentioned hands. I can’t seem to do any manual labor without cutting or scraping my pencil-pusher hands!
Eventually after much hard work and doubts of why I ever even wanted to tackle this project, the wood is stripped and clean. I am always amazed at how good the wood looks once I can see what the original creator had made.
I think in many ways modern Christianity has become just like the old, multi-layered piece of furniture. Just as the piece of furniture looks nothing like the original design, so Christianity has become a weak reflection of what the original creator intended it to be. Over the years each generation has applied their own layers. One group thought we should add this ritual, another thought it needed that tradition. Layer upon layer, until the current state of Christianity has been covered by layers of rituals and traditions until there is very little resemblance to the original, with each generation condemning the next because they changed something. Now new converts must navigate the maze of traditions and preferences to truly feel like they are worshiping the right way. You must wear this, not that. You must like this style of music, not that one. You must worship on these days and times, not those. Layer upon layer until all but the most zealous converts feel like there is no way they will ever be good enough.

I think it is time for all of us to put some prayer and thought into the way we do “Christianity”. Personally, I am identifying layers that I have either added or accepted into my life that were not a part of the way God has instructed me to live out my life for Him. They may be well intentioned rules, but if they were added at some point in time by anyone other than the Original Designer, I want to strip them away and get back to the piece of art that God designed me to be. I want the way I live and worship to be pure and untainted by layers of man-made rituals and traditions. I know this will not be easy. Some will question certain changes that I have made, but that is ok as long as I know I am following the leading of the One who originally designed who I am. Let the work begin!