Masks

“Do you not know that there comes a midnight hour when every one has to throw off his mask? Do you believe that life will always let itself be mocked? Do you think you can slip away a little before midnight in order to avoid this? Or are you not terrified by it? I have seen men in real life who so long deceived others that at last their true nature could not reveal itself;... In every man there is something which to a certain degree prevents him from becoming perfectly transparent to himself; and this may be the case in so high a degree, he may be so inexplicably woven into relationships of life which extend far beyond himself that he almost cannot reveal himself. But he who cannot reveal himself cannot love, and he who cannot love is the most unhappy man of all.”
-Soren Kierkegaard

Last night, I watched the movie "Penelope" with my sisters. It wasn't an amazing film, but it shed new light on the concept of masks and beauty for me. The film is about a girl cursed from birth, with a pig snout and ears that will not go away until "one of her own" learns to love her. Throughout the film, Penelope begins to see that the man who truly loves her will look past her unsightly outward appearance and see her inward beauty. Additionally, Penelope learns to love who she is, uniquely made, despite her imperfections. We are so quick to judge people by mere appearances, or surface impressions. When we really see other's hearts though, and genuinely seek to know them, true love and care develops.

Look at 1 Samuel 16:7 "But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

Samuel thought God was going to anoint the tallest, strongest, mightiest of Jesse's sons as the new king. God had something else in store, and he was looking for something very different in a leader...he wanted a servant. God looks at the heart. The servant God chooses, David, is later described as a man with "integrity of heart." That is kind of a big deal, well not just kind of. In building relationships, we often look to see what others can do for us-if they have money, good connections, physical beauty-thus, our judgments are often so backwards. How often do we really look at the hearts of others instead of mere appearances? Additionally, how much do we live with our masks off, bearing who we really are to others, our hearts and inner longings? So often we can put up a hard exterior while shielding intense inner hurt and failure. To be known, truly known, means to be vulnerable. It means we are putting ourselves out there with the possibility of rejection.

Opening who we are to others, good and bad, and being confident to bare our hearts can enable restoration in others' lives as they see the grace and restoration that is working in our own. However, we cannot possibly bare our hearts to others until we have learned to love ourselves, to love the fact that we are made in the image of God, to embrace the beauty of forgiveness and purity that only Jesus can bring. Further, we cannot love either ourselves or others until we have learned to live with God's eyes. God is the one who sees the heart, who searches all things. We need his eyes in order to rightly see who we are-and who we are through him-and to see others. We love because he first loved us. We take off our masks because we know that he loves us intimately and perfectly, even when others reject us. We can face rejection because we know that our security comes, not in what others think of us, but in what God thinks of us. And if we know his son, then he looks at us and sees his beloved, who died on the cross for our sins.