The Mask

When I was young there was a T.V. show I liked to watch, it was called the Lone Ranger. I'm sure you remember; he had an Indian friend that was with him everywhere he went, named Tonto. I enjoyed the show but there is one thing about it I didn't understand, here was a man doing all kind of good deeds but no-one every really knew who he was! If you remember at the end of the program someone would say "who was that mask man?" Then someone would say "It's the Lone Ranger."

I have noticed in the Reformers meetings that it is harder for men to really open up and let others see what's behind their macho mask. A lot of us men have somewhere bought the lie that manhood means keeping your deepest feelings to yourself. Some of us got it from a father who seldom let anyone into what was behind his macho mask. The people who love you and the people you love desperately need for you to express your tenderness, your hurts, your expectations, and your needs. If you could just risk letting them know that you don't have it all together; that sometimes you're weak, you struggle, you're unsure, it would open up a depth of closeness and healing you never thought you could experience. This past Sunday night I was privileged to witness such a man as he gave his testimony of what the Lord had done for him. As he spoke of where he was and where he had been it was heartbreaking to say the least but when he began to tell of what the Lord had done for him he began to weep and when he did that the mask fell off and people began to see inside the heart of a man whom God had changed eternally. That's the one thing I love about Jesus, He sets men free to feel, to forgive, to love, because they've experienced His love and His forgiveness. Jesus made that possible on the cross for their sins. If you have never done that, it's a step that I pray you'll take this very day. Don't be the Lone Ranger drop the mask and let those who love you in. It doesn't have to be so lonely. It doesn't have to be so full of the hurts that build up inside like a volcano. The man who risks letting people inside is a man who is finally free. So give the gift that keeps lasting and lasting….Yourself.

 

Drop the Mask!