Written by Monique Jacques
Lately, I have learned that masks don’t work. I’m not talking about something you seeon a Clean & Clear commercial. I mean the metaphorical ones worn by so many in life, like the ornate Venetian masks of Carnevale, used to transform a person into any character he or she wishes.
The participants wear a fixed emotion that they see fit for the world to label them with for just one day, and no one sees who they are behind it.
Similarly, I believe that we as Christians often place oppression on our own backs that restricts us from showing negative emotion, forcing us into our own self-imposed reliance on facade.We are comfortable in this constant state of pretense because it produces no conviction.
In our striving to show resilience and overarching peace or joy in tough times, we mistakenly shackle our vulnerability, in turn shutting the world out of our secret struggles by placing the smiling jester’s mask on our tired faces. In this dark, solitary place we begin to believe the lies whispered in our ears: “You have no worth in God’s kingdom,” “You aren’t really loved,” “How could God use you for his glory when you strugglewith _____?”
The longer we cover our grimaces, the wider the space grows between us and the rest of the world. Eventually, we feel we will damage our image, or even worse, the image of Christ, by letting someone else in. These great internal chasms weaken the Body.
The truth is that we are relational beings. The Trinity in and of itself is a relationship, and we are modeled after the living God.When we permit another to see where we struggle in our imperfection, we allow light to shine on our darkness. Truth comes to the surface, which gives our friend permission to show his or her weak- ness as well. When this happens, we realize that we aren’t alone and what freedom there is without the mask.
The enemy knows that when we realize what we’ve been made for and allow Jesus to refine it, thechurch will live how it is supposed to live. By convincing us that we are useless, he instills fear in our hearts. God gave each member a place in his body because he knows that no one can function as Jesus to the world all by him- or herself; that is why he is the head. We function as individuals serving one another with what we’ve been given as our piece of the puzzle and receive the help from others.
Every person I know is so different. Not just in the ways we act and speak, the food and music we like, or what we think is beautiful, but in the ways that we take in and process the world. It is finally occurring to me that what I do matters not only in my own life, but in the lives of those around me. The people I love are affected directly, both negatively and positively, by me. I matter in people’s lives. This may sound like a very rudimentary truth, but for some reason it hadn’t really sunk in.
I can see how people have posi- tively affected my life, but I’ve not recognized that I am one of the tools in God’s handiwork. I can be used to the betterment of others, ultimately bringing him glory. This is what I’ve been created for. Thatis crazy, and that is why the body analogy rocks my world.
God is the head; nothing at all can function without the brain telling it to do so. If the liver tried to work as the lung, the body would die. The work we do is not of ourselves; it is the power of Christ in us. When we recognize our purpose, it can be honed in on and refined so much, ultimately edifying the complete Body. I have a place, and reader, so do you. It affects God’s Kingdom, his Body, for the better of the whole, and it isn’t you who does it, though. Praise him that we get to participate.
In the end, there aren’t many of us who are truly as together as we seem. Let us not fear allowing Jesus to remove the facade that hides who we truly are, because when we do grasp the courage, the person he has purposefully created for his glory comes out and gives others permission to do the same.
