Masked

Masked

10/9/16

The identification through some type of mask is readily produced in human societies.  This is not a new characteristic but one that can be found throughout history, but what true and deep meanings do masks have in our lives?  They serve a temporary purpose but cover the true foundation of what lies within our lives and some even represent a call to gods that rule their cultures.  Is this a good practice or one that only hides the pain to the casual observer?  What about the people who wish to know someone better and deeper than superficial coverings?  It is understandable that people will conceal many personal aspects of their lives from those who they do not know, but what occurs when these coverings become a way of life and refuse to deal with the pain and agony hidden within?  God never intended for us to hide our inner beings from each other, markings and masks are a worldly identification which hides the truth about our experiences.  No matter how much we try to hide our true self, it shall be unveiled at some point in time and we can only hope that God is still in our lives when this occurs.

My family and I have been in our house for almost fourteen years now and we absolutely love all the challenges that owning a home brings.  There have been some rocky times in our home with a few tense moments of doubt that presented itself a while back, but through all of these difficult times we stayed the course, asked for proper help and came through with God’s help and trust in other members of the family.  We personally know the previous owners of the house and their family and because of the extent of this knowledge, the way that we came to own the house was nothing but a gift from God and one that cannot be hidden if we tried. 

One of the stories that we have been told about the house property was how the previous owner would keep the lawn.  Now, I am from the south and I believe in a firm lawn with a great color and look to it but I had never heard of anyone placing phosphorous on their lawn and then scrubbing it in with a broom in order to have the best and deepest green color on the block. This is an ingenious idea and one that if I had the time every day I would complete as well, but I salute Glen and his efforts because what he did set the tone for our lawn today.  While this was a cosmetic solution to a color issue, it had no bearing on the foundation of the grass or base because phosphorus is a natural substance that is found in soil.  It was not going to hurt the grass or soil but it was actually going to help it along and make it healthier in some ways.  The phosphorus addition was not a cover up but one that extended the inner (underneath) beauty of the grass.

This next example is one of importance because it demonstrates the difference between covering up something and placing something on that helps the foundation of a surface.  In no way, am I trying to demean the place of work or organization but I am merely giving an example of this difference.  I understand the purpose of this organization’s action and I also understand it is a viable option from one that totally strips away to the foundation.  This organization recently informed their employees that the entire parking lot options were going to be resurfaced and that some of the spaces that were provided for customers and employees would be blocked off in order to complete this operation.  It was looked upon as a minor inconvenience but one that could be accommodating since there was ample parking space in other parts of the grounds.  When the time came for these facelift operations to occur it was quickly understood that no digging up of any surface was going to occur but only a new coat of tar was going to be placed on the top of the asphalt.  I understand this concept and agree with it but with my mind and heart, the way it is God decided to show me something about Him and His Word that we all need to know about. 

As the company began their preparations to resurface the parking lots they had some preparation work that needed to be completed first which included some cleaning and air blowing to remove rocks and other debris of the specific portion of the parking lot that was to be resurfaced that day.  This cleaning process took almost a half a day and even though it took a fair amount of time not every spec of infirmities was cleared.  I found this kind of amusing but continued to admire the efforts since the intentions were for a good cause.  One of the preparatory steps that had to be included in this process was to go over the cracks that had developed in the asphalt with a heavy coat of pitch and tar.  This step “sealed” the crack and would provide a temporary solution in the advancement of the crack. 

While it did not permanently fix the foundational problem it did temporarily stop the crack from splitting in further directions resulting in large gaps in the surface that could eventually do damage to automobile tires.  This raises the question of why would only a temporary fix be warranted instead of fixing the problem correctly the first time around?  See, there were several large cracks that had developed over the years since the original asphalt parking lot had been placed, and while they were filled with tar and pitch that day the true foundation of the problem had not been fixed, only covered.  The “scars” were noticeable and prominent to the naked eye which when noticed drew the attention of the person walking in that area quite suddenly. 

It was not difficult to know what stage of resurfacing the contractors were in because of the smells that each step produced and by the afternoon the smell of hot oil and tar was radiating in the light breeze that had started.  After a few more moments the portion of the parking lot had been completed with the resurfacing process.  When one stood from a distance and looked at the finished product it would have been easily recognized as a great job, almost brand new.  But when I came up close to the area I could see all of the imperfections of the newly resurfaced lot and it seemed to me that nothing really and truly occurred only a cover up job had taken place.  After a drying time, the parking lot was ready for usage again and it was not too much longer that cars began to park in the newly resurfaced and painted areas.

All seemed well as the next day came and I was once again faced with the looks of this newly resurfaced parking lot but this time, as I looked across the area many cars were parked in the spaces and from all intense purposes, normalcy had returned. However, as I was walking across the parking lot a few details immerged that I noticed, ones that caught my eye and were the subjects that God used to grab my attention for this article.  As I was walking across the parking lot and just about to enter into my building, I noticed that a car had been parked in one of the parking spots close to the entrance door.  Nothing special about the car but it had been through some type of mud recently and had dropped a big glob of it on the new surface of the parking lot.  This stood out like a big brown spot on a dark black surface.  As I approached this spot I noticed and confirmed that it was a spot on top of the newly tarred area and not something coming through the underneath.

Later that day as I was on my way to my car to leave for the day I noticed that there were a set of footprints coming from one of the parking spots headed to the main hospital building.  At this moment I really did not think much about it because I figured those prints were of someone walking in the mud and forming a similar pattern on the new surface as the glob of mud did earlier.  I went home and really did not think about those footprints anymore until the next day.  It had rained a fair deal during the night and when I was on one my journeys across my regular parking lot path I noticed these same footprints from the day before.  I stopped and bent down to take a closer look and it was then I noticed that those footprints were marking of the undersurface and that someone had walked on the tar too soon after resurfacing and had taken up the layer that had been placed on the old surface.  I kind of laughed as I said “oops” because it was then that I realized that someone had fresh tar on the bottom of their shoes.  Quite a difference than the glob of mud on top of the surface I thought and it was at this moment when God spoke and gave me the topic of this article.

When God chose Moses to lead God’s people out of slavery and into the Promised Land Moses argued because of his cosmetic speaking abilities and publicly hidden past.  When Jonah was called to tell Nineveh to repent and that God was going to destroy the land if they did not turn back to Him, Jonah quivered at the thought of completing this command because of his physical fear and basic chicken attitude towards God’s truth.  When Jesus was talking to the woman at the well He understood her past and that she was hiding the truth from Him when she spoke.  There are numerous other examples given in God’s Word that describe how we cover up our infirmities when we come in contact with people.  Yet, God does not call us to complete our purpose because of our infirmities but He calls us to sue our infirmities to help people instead.  Our problem is that we hide these so deep that we cannot effectively complete the mission God has for our lives because we hide the very restoration foundation that God uses to reach those who are hurting and are lost.

It is these masks that we use to cover up the things that we did when we were not following God.  But if we do not allow God to shine through these masks our foundation towards others becomes a lie to them.  Yes, some of us have done minor things that are easily hidden but others have committed horrible acts which can lead to deeper wounds which require more “tar” to hide. Masks and scars are trials that we have experienced through our daily life and we cannot afford to allow Satan to temporarily cover up our lives with these types of masks.  We need to allow God to heal these foundational cracks so that we can be fully functional to a dying world.  When we allow Satan to mask our spiritual appearance in this manner the world’s spirit shall have a foothold on your life and when it comes time and the opportunity arises to talk with that person or group about God, your words shall fall on deaf spiritual ears. 

God understands our lives far better than we can ever imagine, that is why sometimes it is difficult for us to understand why God chooses us for the plan that He has for us.  But if allow Satan’s kingdom to rule our superficial boundaries there will be no way that God’s true foundational repair can be adequately portrayed to those that need fixing.  In religious terms, it is this topical resurfacing that appears to many who do not know God and Christ as their Savior.  It says to the world that it is “ok” to have a superficial knowledge of God but it is not necessary to have a personal relationship with Him.  It is this belief and this teaching that the Church is in the condition she is in today.  She has no idea that she portrays all of the dirt that Satan throws on her AND the underneath scars that Satan exposes that provide a faulty message to those who want a way of peace and truth.  How can she walk into a dying world and proclaim her Groom when she has not fulfilled the requirements of protection?  The Church’s foundation must be intact and holy made before any she can speak of salvation without being hypocritical in her separation from the world.

We are all created in the image of God, which means all of us have a godly foundation, to begin with, and as time passes along and we do not allow God to restore the foundation that He built within us, the only other option we have is to let Satan resurface our lives with a useless coat of tar that will fade away and be immediately subject to the worldly elements we encounter.  This is NOT how God created us nor is it the manner in which He wants us to live, so why don’t we stop pushing God out of our lives and invite Him in to complete the foundation work that we all need, His Way.  See, resurfacing will not correct the issue for the cracks will only become deeper, wider and longer until that portion of our lives no longer can be used.  A process that our enemy loves to see go unchecked and corrected the right way.

It seems like the world always has answers, but those answers cannot penetrate the real issues that people harbor.  A temporary fix is not the correct way to handle eternal issues or physical ones for that matter.  If the foundation or root of the issue is not solved and changed then the problem will only fester until it boils over sometime in the future.  Look at the Middle East crisis, the tensions in Asia, the terror acts all across the globe, power hungry leaders and nations snatching up land from rightful owners.  All of these issues are not new but have been resurfaced over time until now the true tensions are seeping through again.  These examples are proof of what a superficial resurfacing project will lead to in the future; nothing good and nothing pretty as an outcome.  Shed these masks of our enemy and allow God to heal those wounds instead.

Church it is time you wake up and shake the worldly dirt off your feet and begin doing what Jesus tasked us to do.  Allow Our Heavenly and Eternal Father to restore our foundation so that we can once again preach and teach the Gospel as Jesus did.  There are countless resurfaced individuals and groups in the world that are crying out for help and it is our responsibility to be in spiritual tune enough with God that we can hear His direction of where to go.  Jesus loves each and every one of us and we can no longer live with our superficial cracks from the world being presented.  Allow God to heal them properly and then He will allow our lives to be shown off as a testament to His restoration process and Kingdom.

DLB