GOD SEES THROUGH ALL OUR MASKS AND COVERINGS TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER

6/30/2021

Masks. They seem to be everywhere today. Covering up faces. Hiding expressions. Hiding smiles. Hiding our faces to such a degree that when we see someone without them, we aren’t even totally sure it’s them ! Masks make it easy to hide. It makes it easy to avoid things. Avoid people. Avoid conversation. Perhaps even avoid Life ? It’s easy to see the physical masks that we have all been wearing, but what about the ones we have worn all our lives ? Generally they are more like a holographic picture that we can project to outwardly frame a picture of WHO WE WANT PEOPLE TO THINK WE ARE. At some point in our life, we have all used them. They are a safety net that often allows us to be who we want to be rather than who we are. It allows us to escape the things we struggle with, or don’t like about ourselves so we can PROJECT OUR IDEAL SELF. Social media has done an outstanding job of creating a virtual world where people can hang out, pump themselves up, and revel in all the wonderful likes of who they create themselves to be. Amazing isn’t it. You can even exist there without one single shred of real conversation, intimacy, emotion, vulnerability, honesty, or actual humanity ! GOD SEES THROUGH IT ALL. He created us in HIS LIKENESS ! Jesus was born into the family of mankind while still being ALL GOD. He was able to see all the masks that people wore around HIM. Most importantly, HE WAS ABLE TO SEE INSIDE A PERSON”S MIND AND SOUL AND HEART.

AS HE WAS SPEAKING, A PHARISEE ASKED HIM TO DINE WITH HIM. SO HE WENT IN AND RECLINED AT THE TABLE. WHEN THE PHARISEE SAW THIS , HE WAS AMAZED THAT HE DID NOT FIRST PERFORM THE RITUAL WASHING BEFORE DINNER. BUT THE LORD SAID TO HIM, “ NOW YOU PHARISEES CLEAN THE OUTSIDE OF THE CUP AND DISH, BUT INSIDE YOU ARE FULL OF GREED AND EVIL. FOOLS ! DIDN’T HE WHO MADE THE OUTSIDE MAKE THE INSIDE TOO ? BUT GIVE WHAT IS WITHIN TO THE POOR, AND THEN EVERYTHING IS CLEAN FOR YOU. BUT WOE TO YOU PHARISEES ! YOU GIVE A TENTH OF MINT, RUE, AND EVERY KIND OF HERB, AND YOU BYPASS JUSTICE AND LOVE FOR GOD. THESE THINGS YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE WITHOUT NEGLECTING THE OTHERS. WOE TO YOU PHARISEES ! YOU LIKE THE FRONT SEAT IN THE SYNAGOGUES AND GREETINGS IN THE MARKETPLACES. WOE TO YOU, YOU ARE LIKE UNMARKED GRAVES; THE PEOPLE WHO WALK OVER THEM DON’T KNOW IT.” Luke 11: 37-44

Wow ! I’m pretty sure that when the Pharisee asked Jesus to dine with him, he was not expecting that situation to unfold. After all, he was a cut above the average person. An “Important” part of the more political class in superiority and sanctity. EVERYONE KNEW THAT ! What a shock to have Jesus see through the self made position of importance and cut to the very crux of the matter. Shining on the outside, bathed in self adulation, seemingly meeting God’s standards, big presence at worship time….everything looks awesome ! ONLY IT WASN’T. Jesus was concerned about the man’s heart and motives….and He has the same concerns for all of us. He wants GENUINE. He wants ALL IN FROM THE HEART, complete with blemishes, failures, and struggles. When I think about how He died on a cross for MY SINS, it overwhelms me. In myself, I can never justify His Sacrifice. It only holds up because of HIM. Who He Is, and His complete love for ME. His love for ALL WHO SEEK HIM, AND THOSE WHO DON’T. When we walk around in our masks, we may look OK, but we are not. Without a TRUE PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with Jesus and ABIDING IN AND WITH HIM, we are empty graves. Sadly, others may not perceive the emptiness. Well crafted masks can make things look real, even when they are not.

ABIDE IN ME, AND I IN YOU. AS THE BRANCH CANNOT BEAR FRUIT ITSELF UNLESS IT ABIDES IN THE VINE, SO NEITHER CAN YOU UNLESS YOU ABIDE IN ME. I AM THE VINE, YOU ARE THE BRANCHES; HE WHO ABIDES IN ME AND I IN HIM, HE BEARS MUCH FRUIT, FOR APART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING. John 15: 4-5

I HAVE BEEN CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST; AND IT IS NO LONGER I WHO LIVE, BUT CHRIST LIVES IN ME; AND THE LIFE I NOW LIVE IN THE FLESH I LIVE BY FAITH IN THE SON OF GOD, WHO LOVED ME AND GAVE HIMSELF UP FOR ME. Galatians 2:20

THEREFORE AS YOU HAVE RECEIVED CHRIST JESUS THE LORD, SO WALK IN HIM. Colossians 2:6

Are you ready to take off your mask and have a TRUE PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with Jesus ? The world loves to put you in a mask. It keeps you from being all that God wants you to be. It takes away your trust in the fact that GOD GIVES US EVERYTHING ! Safety, Love, Hope and Peace. The world wants you to trust in it and it’s wisdom….and control. God wants you to be joyful, unafraid, and ALIVE IN WHO HE MADE YOU TO BE ! HIS ! Time to put your masks away and BE WHO YOU ARE, flaws and all. Count on Christ for everything in your life. HE ALONE IS YOUR SAVIOR< LORD AND KING !

FEAR NOT, FOR I AM WITH YOU; DO NOT BE DISMAYED, FOR I AM YOUR GOD. I WILL STRENGTHEN YOU; I WILL HELP YOU; I WILL UPHOLD YOU WITH MY RIGHTEOUS RIGHT HAND. Isaiah 41:10

TRUST JESUS/JAA