UNMASKING MYSELF

Many years ago I read an article in a denominational newsletter that referred to "the Masking Disciples 2000 Leadership Team." While "Masking" was a typo and should have read "Making," it made me wonder if that isn't what we in the church might be doing sometimes.

We go out as good people doing good things in the community to make it a good place to live so that we can make good people feel good. That is masking, or covering up, what we really should be about. We are followers of Jesus Christ who are called by Christ to "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you." (Matthew 28:19-20a NLT)

What I need to be about is unmasking myself and letting the world know that the good that I do is because of my relationship with Jesus Christ, not because I'm a good person. Jesus said, " Let your light shine before [others] in such a way that they may see your good deeds and moral excellence, and [recognize and honor and] glorify your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16 AMP)

-- Rev. David T. Wilkinson, SOUND BITES Ministry

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OUR FATHER

In prayer, as in many areas of life, we tend to begin with a “should” rather than an “is.” Often we cannot begin to pray because we feel we ought to say certain words, or place our body in a certain position, or show God a certain face. But prayer… involves a “[child-like] mind.” On a psychological level, this involves letting go of self-judgement and self-consciousness. On the level of faith, it means trusting -- or learning to trust -- that God [the Father] wants us to come truthfully, without masks, “just as I am,” as the old evangelical hymn puts it. 

-- Jane Redmont in “When in Doubt, Sing: Prayer in Daily Life”

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