Monday, August 22, 2011

Taking off the mask

Here is a section from a book I just finished reading. Its a good read. "Waking the Dead", by John Eldredge.

The deeper reason we fear our own glory is that once we let others see it, they will have seen the truest us, and that is nakedness indeed. We can repent of our sin. We can work on our "issues." But there is nothing to be "done" about our glory. It's so naked. It's just there-the truest us. It is an awkward thing to shimmer when everyone else around you is not, to walk in your glory with an unveiled face when everyone else is veiling his. For a woman to be truly feminine and beautiful is to invite suspicion, jealousy, misunderstanding. A friend confided in me, "When you walk into a room, every woman looks at you to see-are you prettier than they are? Are you a threat?"

And that is why living from your glory is the only loving thing to do. You cannot love another person from a false self. You cannot love another while you are still hiding. You cannot love another unless you offer her your heart. It takes courage to live from your heart. My friend Jenny said just the other day, "I desperately want to be who I am. I don't want the glory that I marvel at in others anymore. I want to be that glory which God set in me."

Finally, our deepest fear of all . . . we will need to live from it. To admit we do have a new heart and a glory from God, to begin to let it be unveiled and embrace it as true-that means the next thing God will do is ask us to live from it. Come out of the boat. Take the throne. Be what he meant us to be. And that feels risky . . . really risky. But it is also exciting. It is coming fully alive. My friend Morgan declared, "It's a risk worth taking."

(Waking the Dead , pgs 87-88, John Eldredge)
http://www.ransomedheart.com/

This part is from me, Jim.
Its been a busy week here in Tucson, where all the women are strong, the men are good looking and the children are above average. Judy and I spent last weekend in Escondido, CA. We attended a friends 35th wedding anniversary party. Their kids thru it for them. It was great! The kids did a great job! It was a lot of fun catching up with old friends and making some new ones.
Life friends are great people to have in our lives. They are the ones we will most likely take off our mask for. Its so relaxing to have someone in your life who actually knows you, knows who you are with out your mask and loves you all the same. Its how we are suppose to live our lives. Its how God made us to live. Its our enemy who has pushed us into this full time wearing of our masks, as if that is suppose to be life normal.
I hope you have someone in your life who you can be "100% you", in front of. Gods a starting place. He actually already knows you and loves you just the way you are. He sees thru the mask you wear. Let the rest of the world come to know the real you. You'll be surprised at how many of them love you too!
Thanks for reading, Jim Mc

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