COSTUMES: Which One Are You Wearing Today?

Tonight is Halloween and there will be all types of people wearing costumes. Some will be scary, some superheroes, some fictional characters, others will be vocational people, and others will fall somewhere in the middle.

A few of my more memorable costumes were: 2nd Grade - Superman, 4th Grade - Mr. T, 5th Grade - Juggling Clown, College - my minister. There was another one in college, but I’d have to explain too much about it, but it was “classic”, however you had to be there to understand the humor.

The idea of a costume is to put on something to cover up your identity. We all have an identity. We all have something about our identity that we’d like to cover up. Some things that we’d like to cover up could have just been an embarrassing moment. Whereas some are things we don’t want anyone to ever know.

One of the issues with Christianity is that we treat every gathering as “Halloween”. In other words, we may come together wearing some sort of a costume. Sure, our faces may not be painted - but they could be wearing a fake smile. Our clothes may not be out of the ordinary, but we may be wearing something we can’t afford to look better than we are in reality. We may be wearing a smile, but moments prior we were calling someone a name or at least thinking it.

What would it take to be “real”, to not put on a costume when we’re together? For some, even in your own biological family you may be wearing some sort of a costume because you do not want to show how you were disappointing to your parents or siblings.

Even aside from the church family, there are times when we are in public and are wearing a costume. Which one are you wearing today?

E-mail Encouragement: Which Size of Flame?

Being strong in just about every situation is a good quality. Strong bones help you be supported. Strong heart helps you live longer. Strong muscles help you run faster, jump higher, lift more, etc. Strong teams help you win more. Strong faith helps you not stumble. Each one of those becomes stronger because of strains that are placed upon them to cause them to become stronger. This brings us to this week’s quote…

Just as a small fire is extinguished by the storm whereas a large fire is enhanced by it - likewise a weak faith is weakened by predicament and catastrophes whereas a strong faith is strengthened by them." ~ Viktor E. Frankl

The recent California wildfires were not diminished by the wind; rather, they were enhanced, to the point of destroying acres and homes. However, blow on a candle hard enough and it will go out. Which one defines your faith? Do you have a “California wildfire” faith that is raging? Or a candle-sized faith? The one can handle about anything that is thrown at him, the other can’t handle a single bad day. Maybe you would be somewhere in the middle…but where? Would your faith look like a controlled forest fire, a pile of leaves burning, a fire place fire, or like candles on a birthday cake?

How do you respond to bad predicaments? Does it weaken your faith or strengthen your faith? When your faith is stronger, it strengthens it. If it is too weak for the storm, it will be made even weaker. If you find yourself having a period of weak faith, pray that God will strengthen it. If you’re going through a rough patch and feel the need to share, let me know and I will be glad to pray for you! May your faith in other people be made strong enough to not tackle your burdens by yourself!

Keeping in (faith) shape ~