Ever let your mind wonder to what you would be, could be, should be? Ever dream of this awesome job with really good pay, getting out of debt, being in the best shape of your life, having a personal chef? Lent is a season of reflection, going out into a spiritual desert to take a deeper look at who we are (or whose we are) and who we're called to be. When was the last time you actually peeled back those layers or looked under the masks that we feel like we have to wear because we don't fit in or we're not good enough the way we are? What about the masks we wear because we're scared to let others see the real 'ME'? Or what about the scary thought that we don't know the real me? These are all questions that we have to ask every now and again to give ourself a good gut check! Who are you? Do you let the world define you? Do you define yourself by the way your clothes fit or by how much you ate yesterday? What about defining yourself by the fact that your funny or intelligent, or not?! There are so many things that we desire to be, yet are too afraid to define ourselves for what we really are. We spend so much time trying masks on that we forget what our face looks like!
As Lent approaches its end and Easter is on the horizon, let's first pause to remember Good Friday! Good. Friday. What happens on Good Friday? Crucifixion. How can someone crucified be classified as Good? A roman torture device turned into the ultimate symbol of love. A man laid his life down so that you might have life and have it abundantly! Scripture tells us that "no greater love than this for a man to lay down his life for a friend" WoW. He was beaten, spit on, denied; our biggest fears come true, rejection. He did this for you! Why won't the young boy walk up to the girl and ask her to dance? Rejection. Why won't someone tryout for the soccer team? Rejection. Why don't we raise our hands to answer questions in class that we know the answer to? Fear of failure resulting in rejection. I could go on; what about the masks that fit so tight we have forgotten who we have become? They're weightless and sometimes invisible until we are able to step back and reflect.
Each of us desires intimacy (in-TO-me-SEE). We want someone to look so deep inside of us and tell us that we're not broken beyond repair, trash, worthless, or unloveable. We desire to be seen, known, and loved beyond reason or measure, and we seek this love everywhere. Yet we believe the lies listed above because it's easier to wear a mask than to face the truth. There's a great Sidewalk Prophets song called "Keep Making Me". It asks to be made broken, to empty themselves, to make them lonely; all to break away from masks of pride, vanity, and other things that hide their true selves.
When was the last time you looked for intimacy at the crucifix? Not just at the cross, but the crucifix where Jesus hung for you? Where he opened his arms and said "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do"? He offers us forgiveness, compassion, mercy and ultimately all of his love, but will you accept this gift? When was the last time you approached the crucifix without a mask on? Or what about approaching the cross with your masks on, but having the courage to leave them right there with Jesus? He wants them, he desires them, he desires you. He tells us "come to me all who are burdened and I will give you rest". Are your masks weighing you down, are you willing to set them aside to be seen? The masks that are too heavy to wear, the broken pieces from the mask you had to use a chisel to get off? When you are ready, he is waiting. As a true gentlemen always ready to come in to save you, but he will wait for you to invite him in. You desire intimacy because you were created in the image and likeness of God, you are created for love, for true in-to-me-see.
Lent is the perfect time to reflect on the masks that have been in your wardrobe lately and to make the active decision to lay them down at the foot of the cross. No matter how far away, no matter what mask you put on the Lord tells Samuel "I do not see as Man sees, the appearance, I see the heart." Will you let the world see your beautiful heart as God does? First, take off the mask(s), look into the mirror and see our own heart as Christ does. See the person he died for on the cross, the person that he laid down his life for so that we may have life and have it abundantly.
"above all else my purpose remains, the art of losing myself and bringing you praise...my heart and my soul I give you control, consume me from the inside out" -Hillsong United From the Inside Out
--Live Jesus--
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