Under The Mask

 "It wasn't a real ghost. It was just Mr. Jenkins, the maintenance man."

If you childhood was as great as mine, you can probably still sing the theme songs to the old Saturday morning cartoons. Flintstones, Jetsons, Looney Tunes. One that I always loved was Scooby Doo. A group of young adults with their talking dog go out and solve mysteries in their green Mystery Machine van. At the conclusion of every episode, they would take off the mask of the "ghost" and reveal the person beneath. In costume, the villians antics seemed, sometimes, really convincing, but after their mask was removed, the gang would explain how all their tricks were nothing more than some old string and a creaky door.
There is something I need to tell you guys. We all wear masks. Its true. No matter how much we try to convince the world we are one thing, our true self is hiding under a mask of deception At some point in time, somebody is going to pull that mask right off, and expose our hidden person. When that happens, will people be amazed at what they see? Will the person you are underneath be the same, or will they see a brand new picture entirely. If you couldn't tell by the gym parking lots being full and the health food cleared off the shelf, we have entered a new year. 2017 is here, and if we are not careful, it will be over before we have even had a chance to do anything about it. Our person under the mask will never change and we will continue living a facade of outward perfection, even though our inner man is hurting and longing for something else. What if in this new year, we make it our goal to take off our own mask, and let God fix the hurt and the brokenness that is found beneath. Now, this is not a goal that we should work hard at the first month of the year, slack off the second, then forget about till next year by the third. No, this needs to be one that is always on our minds. How can our outer appearance truly reflect our inner reality? I know, for me personally, there are areas that need a little bit more of God and a little less of me. I don't want to just say I am a Christian, and not fully live like one. At times, it may be hard. i mean if getting in shape were easy, less and less people would make it their goal to get their bodies healthy. If being a fully committed Christian were easy, Jesus never would have needed to die on that cross for you and me. I'm not someone who is fond of making resolutions for myself at the start of the year, but by this time next year, I want to be closer to God than I ever thought possible. Who's with me?

Adam Semple- A Young Man On A Mission From God

*photo credit- Hanna Barbera- Scooby Doo