Masks

Masks, they are common every where we go, but wearing one is nothing new. We have done it most of our lives.

Question

When have people seen something or thought something of you that isn’t really true? When has someone failed to see what’s really going on inside you?

Nearly everyone in the world is wearing masks. I went to Costco this week and you could not enter the store without one. I was fine and happy with this but the gentlemen behind me wasn’t as he was stopped at the door and told he could not enter until he put one on.

As I’ve looked at pictures of friends on social media who have masks on, it has struck me that I miss much of the person who is behind the mask. In fact it’s easy to not recognize them. I'm certain that while on my shopping trip there were friends who walked by me whom I did not recognize and vice versa.

Wearing masks in public is nothing new. We do it all the time in one form or another. When we go out into the world we try to look, act and sound a certain way. We may be trying to meet another person’s standards or our own. When we arrive back at home often the mask comes off and the real person returns again. 

Underneath the mask is something beautiful, some thing sacred and something God breathed. It’s crazy how we often try to apply so much to it before others see it. I believe our most beautiful moment with God is when we are who we are. It’s the moment in front of the mirror when we just wake up. It’s moments when we are  most vulnerable, the most authentic and the most real. 

The Apostle Paul writes in Corinthians 12:9-10 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

As many in the world “mask up”, which I highly approve of by the way, let’s also rejoice at the beauty and the weakness underneath the mask. This is the real us. And though that reality may only be seen and experienced in the safety of our homes, it can also be experienced in the truth that God knows every fiber of our being and has an account of every one of our actions and yet He loves us unconditionally.

Rejoice today in God the Father who is yours and who loves you and accepts you with or without the mask.

Question

What is an area that you cover up or hold back when you leave home? Whatever that area is, what is something good about it and what could God use it for?

Prayer

Dear God, thank you for loving us as we are. Thank you for accepting us in the morning when we first wake up and at night after a long day of mistakes. You know us and welcome us no matter what. Help us to celebrate and be confident in your creation. Thank you for loving us so much and help us to never forget the beauty that you have made.

Amen