Our self-effort is nothing compared with the glory of God at work in us.
Regardless of our background, skills, sharp wit and dedicated heart for success, the real truth about our Christian lives is that God is at work in us and he can do so much more through us than you or I could ever do without him. We do not have to psych ourselves up to accomplish something for God. In fact we know that even in our feeblest weakness God is able to work through us – and that is what we count on.
Yes, the world is waiting to see the truth and all we have to do is be available, and yet something stands in the way of this happening. It is us. We are in the way. We hide the truth behind the masks we wear because we are not willing to be seen as the sinners we really are.
The glory of Christ can only truly be seen in contrast to our own despicable sinfulness. As we begin to lose a heartfelt awareness of our own wretchedness as Christians, we begin to lose the full significance of Christ’s work on the cross for everyone. His glory is seen only against the horribleness of our sin. Yet we create masks to hide our sins. Our masks return us to bondage and keep us from the freedom found in His Spirit’s liberty.
Masked with near perfection, sin hides itself beneath the surface of good churches, good confessions, good works, and good intentions. Everyone really knows that something is wrong, but because of all the good rituals, works and confessions, sin is not seen for its exceeding sinfulness (Romans 7:13). When our sin is not seen as exceeding sinfulness, our light is no longer His, but darkness masquerading behind all the ‘right’ things we do, making our darkness even darker.
We are all called to be ministers of the new covenant. God is making us able. We understand that God breathes into our lives and through us to all those around us – our families, our neighbors, our workplace, our community, our world. If we are willing to live unmasked, life will never be the same again.
Join John, a pastor who cannot remember ever not being an evangelical Christian and his street Christian wife this Wednesday evening, October 19th at 7:00 PDT for our Catch On Teleconference Bible Study. We will continue to explore the New Covenant: Transforming the Marketplace. Embrace its truth, recognize its ramifications, and witness our new found freedom to be who really are. This is a Bible Study series that you do not want to miss. It will change your life forever.
John Fischer The Catch 
Great post today…of course I can usually say that everyday. It reminds me of a quote in a book I just read – Cliff Falls – “In wearing our mask we reject our true self and betray the humanity entrusted to us.” It seems I’ve created a lot of masks over the years, and over the last few months I’ve finally realized that I need to step out from behind and start living in the light. Knowledge is the first step, and lately I’ve been trying to put that into practice (not an easy task, but I guess change never is!)
Thanks Mareen. I agree, this post speaks loudly to me. I too am realizing I am a professional mask wearer. It feels both scary and good to begin to peal them off. We may need some help!