Unmasked

 "A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had." Acts 2:43-44...."How honestly are we living within the Body of Christ?" Chris Tiegreen

I know in verse 44, when Luke, the author of the Book of Acts, writes about the first century believers sharing everything they had, he was speaking first of the sharing of material and financial resources as they were needed. However, the beauty of Scripture is that the Lord places deeper truth and meaning in His Word. He means for us to see deeper applications of His truth. I see that in this verse.

I think one of the great problems with the modern church is the lack of openness and sharing on a personal level between His people. We come together so often with our "masks" on. Our fellow believers know who we are, but they don't know us. We reveal little of our real selves to each other. Most of this comes from a mixture of fear and pride. Fear in that we tremble at the consequences, mostly imagined, of what people will do should they know what is really going on with us in the moment. Pride in that we don't want people to know that we don't have everything together in our lives. We're deceived into thinking everyone else does. We're blind to the truth that none of us do. So, we put on our masks that give out the false impression that all is well, while in some area, even many areas, we're dying. We're dying from the inside out. We're not at all what the church should be, and deep down we know that. Our fear and our pride hold us in this captivity. They make us believe that if anybody were to know the truth about our lives, they'd run us out of the church. The tragedy is, that in some fellowships, this would be true. God help us that it's so, but it is. The church should be a safe place for everyone to come, no matter the depth of their need, their problems, or their sin. The fact that it isn't should never stop us from striving to see that it is, because it is what He raised His church up to be, a living colony and presence of Christ and His followers ministering in the country of death.

I know something of what I write about. When I entered into ministry, I believed that my mate and I were united in our commitment to it. I soon found out this wasn't so. The real pressures and challenges involved soon began to wear upon her and coupled with some deep unhealed wounds in her spirit, the situation worsened by the year, as did my deep pain and heartache over it all. The ministry, the marriage, life itself became an impossible load for me to bear. I continued to pastor, because it was my calling, and I did love it, but all the while, I longed to be able to talk to someone, fellow pastor friends particularly, about the deep pain I was walking through. Fear and pride kept me from it. I was sure the results of doing so would be catastrophic. So, I hid it all, and myself with it. But there's a cost with that. Someone said that if you don't deal with your issues today, they will certainly deal with you tomorrow. Eventually, all my energy to keep things together and hidden collapsed. My mate left, my marriage ended, and all that I had tried to hide became known to all. And God allowed it. I believe He allowed it that He might bring to me, if not her, the deep healing I was so desperate for. He allowed the worst that I thought could happen to happen. He'll do that when He knows that's the only way to bring the wholeness we so desperately need. Yet such is His last resort, I think. His first is that we would be the church as He means it to be. Brethren bearing one another's burdens in love. Forming true relationships with masks off. Relationships founded on trust in one another and trust in Him. Living with and in transparency. Using wisdom and discernment in all but living unmasked. It's a risky life I know, but a rich one as well.

Forgive me if I've rambled, but it's my deep hope that no one walk through what I walked through in the way I chose to do so. May we be committed to being His church. His church as He raised and created it to be. People coming together, sharing, bearing, in real community. Living an abundant life and offering it to all who are passing by. Broken hearts are everywhere. They're desperate for healing and wholeness. May we be a part of a body of believers who offer both in Christ our Lord. May we live unmasked.

Blessings,

Pastor O