Masks. Almost all of us have them. They hide our insecurities, they show others what we want them to see, and they allow us to be who we want to be, but they keep us from the very things we want most: To be known, and loved. What will it take for our masks to disappear?
After reading TrueFaced, our class is taking this week to learn the answer to this question. I typically don’t take time to think deeply about what I read… this book was different. I saw myself in the examples described. I saw truths that, if I could apply to my life, would change the way I see others and provide freedom I have seldom, if ever, experienced.
TrueFaced is about just that: being true faced; being yourself. The more I digested this book, the more I realized how many masks I have picked up. I want to look good and be accepted by others. I strive to do what’s right in order to please God. I’ve decided that if I am to do well in this world, I’ll just have to cover up my problems. I live as if I can fix myself… after all, I can do it on my own. This is okay, right? After all, shouldn’t I be trying to please God?
While I should desire to honor God, what is the motive behind this desire? Too often it is, “So He will be happy with me.” This view of God not only hurts my relationship with Him, but the way others relate to me. They begin to feel like they have to perform in order to please God and be loved by others.
Eph. 2:8-9 states, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from ourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast.” This same grace I received at salvation is the grace God offers now. And it is the only way I can truly overcome my sin patterns.
I have to realize that no matter how much I mess up, God is pleased with me. I don’t have to perform for Him, because He has already accepted me for who I am… a saint. As soon as I believe His definition of me, I am issued into incredible grace and freedom, and begin to live this truth with the people around me. Only God’s grace and strength will overcome my sin and allow others to know me.
This week, I hope our class realizes who God says we are. When we do, the masks we have created before God and one another will begin to drop. We will accept each other despite sin, frustrations, and awkwardness; and we will realize that it is when we allow others to see us, that we can be truly loved.
Madison Cothran
IMPACT 360 Student
Class of 2011