Have you ever worn a mask, or a costume?

   During this time of the year many will wear costumes as they prepare for fall festivals. It's a time of make believe and fantasy. Costumes are fun. Just about everyone can remember a time when they dressed in a costume and paraded around the house wearing the clothing of one parent or the other. Often the pants were too large or the dress dragged the floor.

   Despite how awkward we felt or how silly we looked, we still had fun. In fact, it seemed that the sillier we looked the more fun we had. Wearing a costume allowed us to live out a fantasy for a short time. We knew it wasn't real but we had a good time playing let's pretend. The costumes made us laugh. They gave us a chance to become someone other than ourselves. For a time we can even get to act like someone else.

   There is a difference between a costume, a mask and a disguise. A costume usually suggests a role. Those who wear costumes are usually playing a role or are a part of an operation or unit that requires a certain look or image. Those who wear masks usually attempt to conceal their identity while a disguise is meant to change our appearance completely.

   Masks don't always hide something bad. Sometimes, hidden behind the mask of a shy boy who stutters is a flamboyant superstar with a with mega voice, which was the case with James Earl Jones. Sometimes hidden behind the mask of the slow learning imbecile who would never learn anything is the wonderful mind of men like Albert Einstein. Maybe hidden behind the mask of the little girl, born blind, deaf and mute, is a naturally brilliant mind, as was the case of Helen Keller. Sometimes the mask of the mean tough guy hides the gentle fellow on the inside. One great truth of life is that we never really know people until we catch them without their masks; without their game face, without their public personality.

   We really get to know them when we know them without the mask. Sometimes we dont like the man or woman behind the mask. Sometimes it frustrates us and makes us angry. The beauty of our relationship with God is that he loves the man or woman behind the mask. He knows our inner spirit. Despite what he knows about us, he has chosen to love us anyway. Despite what he sees when our masks come off, he still loves us.

   As Christians, we have come to love God more than ever. We love him because he looks beyond our faulty masks, disguises and false faces and sees someone worthy of loving. No wonder the song writer wrote, Oh How I love Jesus, because he first loved me.

   Today, remember God sees the real you; be yourself.