One morning while at work for some reason I glanced up to look at the various items that are on my desk.  I would image that like most people there are many different things that we have at our desk.   Like most of us I have pictures of loved ones and other assorted things.

At my desk is a keepsake that was given to me by a friend.  It is a mask.  I decided to hang the mask up at my desk.  I have always been impressed by the beauty of the mask and its design.

Masks have of course been with us I would say for thousands of years.  The world of theater has made masks a staple of theirs.  As well there are occasions where people go to various events that call for them to wear a mask of some sort.

I found myself as I was looking at my mask wondering about the definition of a mask.   In checking I found the following:  a covering for all or part of the face, worn as a disguise, or to amuse or terrify other people.

As per the definition masks can be used in different ways.  All of us I am sure have some experience with wearing a mask at one time or the other.

But in looking a second time at the mask at my desk it gave me cause to think about a different kind of mask.  While not as colorful or as uniquely designed as my mask, I found myself thinking about the mask that we may wear during the course of our every day lives.

All of us at one time or the other has worn a mask that portrays one thing, while actually hiding the real thing.  Perhaps it might be that mask that proclaims to the world that the smile on my face reflects that all is well when in fact on the inside I may be dealing with the heartbreak of losing a loved one or the growing fear of facing what life presents.   While a smile may serve to amuse many, it may be done so to hold inside a secret sadness or anxiety.

If by chance ours is a mask that is worn to terrify or to intimidate, it may be so with intent to scare away others from the darkness or fears that we ourselves don’t want the world to see in us.

And there are those times when the mask we wear is done so to conceal feelings of insecurity, loneliness or unworthiness. It is our disguise locking out the world and granting access to few if any.

Masks can indeed project one thing while disguising the real thing.  Masks which serve as opportunities for us to hold others at bay while perhaps we ourselves are reluctant to face what is within.

Far too often the masks that we wear can cause us to think that when you get right done to it that which we hold inside may make us feel that we are truly unworthy to any one for any reason.

But even though we at times may feel unworthy, even though we may believe that the secret us is beyond acceptance, we must I would submit to you embrace the fact that God does not see us as we see ourselves.  God looks beyond even how we perceive our most inner self to be and he looks at our hearts.

Those secret fears we may hold inside, those dark thoughts of do I even matter or am I of any of any importance in the eyes of God are not what matters.  For as it has been written and expressed  many times, red and yellow black and white, we are precious in HIS sight.  Where we may see flaws, God sees potential.  Where we may see shortcomings, God sees room for growth.

These masks that we may wear, though in fact they may cause us to attempt to disguise the inner us, it does not inhibit nor exclude us for the love of God.  How much does God love us?  His love as such is this; he send his only son to die on cross for all of us.  What greater act of love can there be.

Yes we will experience wearing many different masks throughout our lives.  But as Christians we are called to remember that God is challenging us to not allow any mask to define or constrain us, but to know that our lives are in him, and all that we are and will be is because our eyes look to the heavens from which our help will come.  For it is with God and through Christ that we will indeed be reaffirmed as precious and wonderful in his sight.

To God Be The Glory

Alan T. Black