Check out those Halloween trick-or-treaters at your door in a few days...You?ll meet some pretty funny--and strange--faces...but you know what? They're all FAKE! When they go home, the mask comes off, the makeup comes off--and what you see is what you get!
How about you? OK, of course, your face is not "funny"...but is it fake? Ouch! How many times do people ask, "How are you?" - we smile and say "fine" and we really have a limp in our step, arthritis in our knees, clog-ups in our head, pains in our feet, hurts in our hearts--and if you told someone how you REALLY felt, they'd run the other way!
REALLY? Now of course, we need to be reasonable and not tell the world every ache and pain they don't really want to know. And of course, our face needs to reflect the joy of the Lord--a sparkle in the eye, a quickening in the step (oops...that's our feet, not our face!), a bright smile (flossed teeth and good breath helps too...grin!). We do need to let Jesus shine through--for that's Who we represent!
BUT--what about those days, when the frown . . .
"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's got the funniest face of all?"
Check out those Halloween trick-or-treaters at your door in a few days...You?ll meet some pretty funny--and strange--faces...but you know what? They're all FAKE! When they go home, the mask comes off, the makeup comes off--and what you see is what you get!
How about you? OK, of course, your face is not "funny"...but is it fake? Ouch! How many times do people ask, "How are you?" - we smile and say "fine" and we really have a limp in our step, arthritis in our knees, clog-ups in our head, pains in our feet, hurts in our hearts--and if you told someone how you REALLY felt, they'd run the other way!
REALLY? Now of course, we need to be reasonable and not tell the world every ache and pain they don't really want to know. And of course, our face needs to reflect the joy of the Lord--a sparkle in the eye, a quickening in the step (oops...that's our feet, not our face!), a bright smile (flossed teeth and good breath helps too...grin!). We do need to let Jesus shine through--for that's Who we represent!
BUT--what about those days, when the frown DOES comes easier than the smile, when the worry wrinkles DO show up on the brow, when the hurt is heavy and you can't hide it, what then? Well, don't "dump" on everyone you see--but don't be a fake! Don't be afraid to let a good friend know you are hurting. Be real, be real, BE REAL! That's what people are looking for--the real YOU!
And so...new rule: No FAKES allowed at Peggie's Place! Go check the mirror on the wall, and if the real YOU is hiding behind a mask today.....take it OFF! You?ll feel better, your friends--and your foes--will like you better--AND after all, the Lord sees you without mask and without makeup ANYWAY (scary thought...grin!), so go ahead--be YOURSELF, the way God made you--it may be FUNNY but it won't be FAKE!! Believe it--and have a great day!
Scripture:
"...for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7)
Prayer:
"OK, Lord, I've been fakin? it, before my brothers and sisters, before the world--and before YOU--You already know that! I humbly take OFF my mask--I choose to be real, to be honest even when it hurts--and to let Your love shine through me to a needy world that's looking for the REAL me, redeemed by Your love and grace, In Jesus? Name, Amen."
All Scriptures are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Copyright 2005 by Peggie C. Bohanon, Springfield, Mo. Used by permission.
Visit "The Devotional Buffet" for more: http://www.peggiesplace.com/buffet.htm
Created at Peggie's Place: http://www.peggiesplace.com,
"the most fun Christian home on the Web."