False Selfنموونە

Hiding Behind Your False Self

The masks we wear don’t just hide us from others. They hide us from ourselves. If you took them all off and saw yourself in your rawest, truest form, what would you find?

Jealousy, mixed motives, pettiness, resentment, lust … we keep these shameful things hidden so deep; we often don’t even recognize them.

It’s our fallen human nature to hide. Watch this Lumo clip to see how the first humans hid themselves after disobeying God.

Recognizing their nakedness and vulnerability, Adam and Eve covered themselves in fig leaves. They felt that they needed to protect themselves from the One who loved them the most.

God is love. That is good news with a dark shadow. The good news is you are loved right now without qualification or restriction. The dark shadow is that you find that love hard to believe and even harder to trust.

We often, and wrongly, assume that God’s love is dependent on our ability to be perfect. When intrusive thoughts like envy or lust enter our minds, we frantically attempt to cover them up with masks of individuality or pride.

As it says in Romans 3:23, all have sinned and fallen short of God’s perfect standards. This is why Jesus came – to redeem our hearts and renew our lives back to God’s flawless design.

We cannot earn God’s love, and we were never meant to. What we can do, however, is offer our whole selves to God. When we do, we can find freedom and life in His love.

Reflection:

What parts of yourself are you afraid to reveal to God? Do you know what it is like to live freely in His love?

Prayer:

God, I know I am trying to hide myself from You. Please take all my flaws, sins, and failures. I trust that You will accept me. You will not abandon me. Amen.