Have you ever worn a mask? I’m sure you have. But have you ever put a mask over your heart?
Perhaps you were hurt by somebody, and now you protect yourself by never letting others get close to you – you social distance your heart from others. Perhaps you were alone or afraid or tired and burnt out, but when people asked you how you were doing, you said, “I’m fine.” Or maybe you felt sad or angry or rejected, but you never showed it – you put a smiley face mask over your hurting heart, and everyone thought you were happy.
I also wore a mask over my heart.
It isn’t nice to wear a mask. You struggle to breathe and you can’t see if other people are smiling or sad. You also have to social distance, so you can’t even give someone you love a hug! When I wore a mask on my heart, this is how I felt. I thought I could protect myself from being hurt by others when I wore my mask. But I only ended up isolating myself from my friends and family and making it hard for myself to breathe.
Then I realised that there was someone who saw right through my mask.
His Name is Jesus!
There is nothing I can hide from Jesus, but for a long time I tried to hide my feelings from Him. Then one day I read this in God’s Book:
“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And so we are!”
When I believed in Jesus, I was born into His family. I became a child of God, and God became my Father! Our fathers here on earth sometimes hurt us because they aren’t perfect, but God is a perfect Father, and He loves us very much. He sees everything in our hearts and He wants us to come to Him so that He can comfort us and heal us from our hurts.
When I realised God’s love and accepted it, it was as if He picked me up and put me on His lap and hugged me. When I told God all my sins and asked Him to help me live a better life and not hurt others, He forgave me! Suddenly I was clean, and with my Father standing next to me every day, I wasn’t afraid to love other people and let them get close.
God helped me take my mask off.
Recently our country has started allowing us to take our masks off. I had some friends over at my house for the first time in months and we talked for two hours without our masks: it was wonderful! I felt happy and safe and free. That is also how I felt when I took the mask off of my heart.
Are you ready to take your mask off?