Mike Rusch

10 Things Fear Causes by Perry Noble

When was the last time you were able to admit you were afraid & it was affirmed as being okay? Don’t lose ability to be vulnerable…

Masks. 

We all have them. 

If we are really honest, the question isn’t if you’re holding a mask. 

The question is “what kind of mask are you holding?”

For some the mask is held up to portray an image of who we want people to think we are.  For others the mask is held up so that we can hide the things that would cause others to reject us.  In either case, it is typically fear that holds the mask over who we really are.

The question today is if we could accept the other if the mask was removed?  Despite all they have done to harm or defeat us, could we stop our fighting and offer them grace?

Darth Vader may give us the ability to duck the question in the name of humor and silliness.  However, it doesn’t change the scars and wounds that remain behind our own masks or the mask of the other.

Whatever the mask may be, this fact remains.  

There is a life behind the exterior presentation that needs a hand of grace to help remove the mask of fear.

Background:

The People of the Second Chance “Never Beyond” campaign is designed to ask the question “Who Would You Forgive?”  Its purpose is to break down walls of assumptions, sometimes shockingly, and raise the hope of redemption for those on whom society has turned its back. It causes us to question why we hold so tightly to unforgiveness, and asks what price we’ve been willing to pay for it.