masks

​In the ancient world, actors wore masks that clearly showed their emotions.  The masks had big smiles or big frowns so that it was obvious to all what emotion the actor was feeling.  Of course, that was just the emotion the actor was showing...we have no way of knowing what feeling the actor was really having behind the mask.
 
I spent some years in high school doing theater productions and I played parts from a jailer to a baseball player to a Mexican spy...but of course I am none of those things in real life, they were just parts I played.
 
Similarly, we often play a part in life.  We pretend to be happy even though we are sad.  We pretend to have it all together even though we are broken.  We pretend to have a strong relationship with God even though we feel lost.  We put on a mask and play a part.
 
Why?  Why do we try to fool others?  Why do we even try to fool ourselves and God?  Maybe we think we will be judged or that others don't really care...but I want to be a part of a church where it’s safe to be real and vulnerable.   I will work as the pastor to help foster that kind of atmosphere so that you can take off your mask and be the real you.
 
2 Corinthians 4:2 says "We have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception."
 
Let's be real, let's not keep secrets (that tend to grow in the dark) but let's bring the truth of our hearts into the light of God (and the church) and love each other; no masks needed.
 
 
In Christ,
Pastor Scott