Unmasking Our Reality

We are living in a moment of historic exposure that only comes in challenging times when our assumed reality is unmasked and revealed for evaluation.

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On a walk through our town, I noticed several discarded masks on the sidewalk. Masks are becoming a new form of litter in our communities. I stopped and took a photo of one of the masks knowing the Lord was speaking.

An unmasking is taking place. This is not about government mandates or personal health preferences. Something else is happening. The Lord is unmasking His Church so we can be healed and reformed. The Apostle Paul described what is unfolding in our lives at this moment in history.

“Since God has so generously let us in on what he is doing, we’re not about to throw up our hands and walk off the job just because we run into occasional hard times. We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don’t maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don’t twist God’s Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open, the whole truth on display so that those who want to can see and judge for themselves in the presence of God” (II Corinthians 4:1-2 – The Message).

We are living in a moment of historic exposure that only comes in challenging times when our assumed reality is unmasked and revealed for evaluation. In this exposure, our motives, our Scriptural integrity, and how we conduct the business of God’s Kingdom will be unmasked in preparation for that evaluation.

The Lord is bringing the Church out into the open, not just for us to review our ranks, but for the world to see. They will see all our spiritual warts and blemishes and our failed assumptions. They will watch how we treat each other in the process of our mutual healing. How we handle the redemption and restoration of these issues will become a greater testimony than the previous image of our supposed success. This vulnerability carries with it a choice we will have to make. Will we re-mask once again trying to keep alive our past failures or will we walk bare-faced into the future and trust God?

This unmasking has powerful implications if we keep our hearts tender and moldable in the hands of God. Before every great move of God, an unmasking of the Church takes place. These moments of unmasking are an invitation for a fresh encounter with God not imagined when our masks were still in place.

 

This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Garris Elkins

Featured Image by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash

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About the Author

Garris Elkins is a Kingdom Winds Contributor. He and his wife, Jan, serve the global Church through writing, speaking, and mentoring. They live in southern Oregon, tucked away in the foothills of the Rogue Valley. Their shared desire is to have each person learn how to hear the heart of God and become a transforming voice in their culture.