MASKS

Halloween is a time when many people dress up in costumes and wear masks either for trick or treating or to go to parties, etc. When I was a child we used to have thin plastic masks with the eyes and nostrils cut out, held on our faces with a little elastic string. They not only hid our faces, but if they slipped they would also obscure our vision. This could be dangerous when walking around on the street, which is one reason those types of masks are no longer encouraged for kids going door to door.

Sometimes in life we walk around wearing a mask. At times it is just a pleasantry, such as when someone asks us, "How are you?" and our answer is the pat, "Fine!" even when we are not. Other times it is part of a role we have in life, such as putting forth a professional image at a job we have. We smile and are pleasant to customers or clients to make them feel at ease, even when inside we may not feel like smiling. Even makeup is a mask, a way to cover what we may see as imperfections or to enhance our looks. Some of us wouldn't even dream of leaving the house with no makeup, for fear someone might see how we really look! Then there is the perfectionism mask, trying to look good in how we behave to hide those flaws which we do not like within ourselves. We may think that people would not like us if they really knew us inside and out. There are times when our "masks" even obscure our vision, or give us a distorted view of our world around us or even of ourselves. We may begin to think that those masks are absolutely necessary or even to believe that the mask is who we truly are. Or we may think that we are hiding behind a mask when actually the people around us may understand what is behind the mask more than we realize. What masks do you wear?

I used to think that I had to always wear a mask, no matter where I was. I thought I had good reasons for it. There were times that it was socially acceptable and appropriate to "put on a good face" so to speak. But I found that my mask was actually like those two-way mirrors, completely see-through on one side, and a reflective mirror on the other side. My mask was much more transparent from the outside than I realized. Those who knew me best could see right through my mask. And the inside of my mask, the part that I could see, was like a magnifying mirror that exaggerated any flaws that I saw to unbelievable proportions. Because the inside of the mask was also curved and contoured, it was like those carnival mirrors, producing a very distorted image, nothing like the true face it reflected.

But God sees us for who we truly are. He sees inside our hearts even when we try to hide from him behind a mask. God has a better costume for us. He knows we are not perfect - none of us. And He loves us just the way we are. He not only forgives us for our imperfections, but makes us new again in Jesus. When he looks at us, He sees his perfect Son who gave his life for our sins. We are clothed in his righteousness.

I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness... Isaiah 61:10a

I am so grateful that we have a forgiving God who loves us just the way we are. May we all be able to remove our masks and be honest witnesses to the world!

Written by Jan A.