Masked

Masked 

Do you really know who you really are? 

Have you hid under a mask for so long to please everyone else and to fit in that you've forgotten your true identity?

Has it helped you in your ministry to try and copy everyone else's success instead of being who God called you to be?

When they questioned Paul's identity because of his past, this is how he responded in his letter to Timothy:

1 Timothy 1:11-16 " According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust. And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting."

If the face you always show the world is just a mask and not your true identity then someday there will be nothing beneath it and when your true self comes out you'll have no true identity to build on.  You've always spent so much time concentrating on everyone else’s perception of you, or who everyone else wants you to be, you eventually forget who you really are.  

Here's some good advice:

-Don’t fear the judgments of others.

-Know in your heart who you are and what’s true to you and seek to please God more than man.  

-You don’t have to be perfect to impress and inspire people.  

-Let them be impressed and inspired by how you deal with your imperfections and have learned to overcome them by the grace of God. 

Have a great spiritual mentor like Timothy did in Paul. Take heed and learn from their experience and their advice. Get all the knowlege and information you can and glean from it, but let God develope you as He desires to. Don't become a masked Christian or preacher who wants to please everybody and always be loved, but be a man or woman of God who loves everybody even when they are unloveable.