We’ve all got masks, don’t we? Think
about it. Have you ever known anyone who gets in a fight on the way to church
with their spouse and they’re arguing back and forth? As soon as they get out
of the car in the parking lot, it’s “Praise the Lord. Jesus is so good to me.”
It’s a spiritual mask. We all wear masks from time to time. Where in scripture
would we find the first mask being worn? Genesis 2:25 (ERV) says: “The man and his
wife [Adam and Eve] were naked, but they were not ashamed.”
At this moment, there was no sin in
the world, and no shame, guilt, or embarrassment. The serpent came slithering
in and tempted Eve with the fruit and her and her husband, Adam, ate the
forbidden fruit. Genesis 3:7 says: “Then it was as if
their eyes opened, and they saw things differently. They saw that they were
naked. So they got some fig leaves, sewed them together, and wore them for
clothes.”
That’s the Bible’s first mask. Adam
and Eve could no longer be open with God. They were guilty and felt ashamed so
they covered themselves and hid. Try to hide from an all knowing, ever present,
all powerful Creator. Genesis 3:8-9 (ERV) says: “During the cool part of the day, the Lord God was walking in the garden. The man and
the woman heard him, and they hid among the trees in the garden. The
Lord God called to the man and said, ‘Where are
you?’”
I think that’s what God is asking
today. “Where are you?” It’s not because God doesn’t know where you are. He
knows exactly where you are and what’s going on in your life. He’s asking
because He wants us to recognize where we are. He’s saying, “Look at how far
from Me you’ve wandered. Stop running. Stop hiding. Take off the mask and be
real. I love you just the way you are. Stop hiding and let Me help you.”
We hide from God, others, and even
ourselves. We hide out of fear. Our
fear leads to fakeness. Our fakeness keeps us far apart. We are
terrified that if we show anyone who we really are, we will be ridiculed,
rejected, ignored, misunderstood, or disliked. Authentic connection can only
take place when people are real, genuine, and honest.
"Wearing a mask wears you out; faking it is
fatiguing. The most exhausting activity is pretending to be what you know you
aren’t” (Rick Warren)[i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“Unmasked, hiding from God” by Milt Borah
·
“WHY I HID BEHIND A MASK TODAY”
by Carla Gasser
Inspired by the sermon “The
Masked Sinner: Unmasked” (installment one) Sunday
February 9, 2020, Dave Jansen CenterPoint Gahanna Church Gahanna, OH.
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