Costumes

The stupidest Halloween costume I've ever worn was actually a decent costume - just wildly inappropriate.

And no, it wasn't a toga.

I'm guessing I was 11 or 12 years old when I decided to put on my heaviest winter coat, a pair of swimming goggle with large individual eye pieces, a knit cap & my for-real camping/hiking backpack (stuffed with newspaper)... to be a climber. It actually was a pretty good-looking costume, if I don't say so myself.

The only problem is where I was wearing these layers of heat-trapping stuff - in southern California on a particularly warm Halloween night. It was like being trapped in a sweat factory of my own making.

It's an apt metaphor for the masks most of us wear around 24/7 - the "I've got it all together" and/or "I'm a Christian so nothing is wrong in my life, no sirree" layers of protective costume we try to hide behind when our worlds are actually coming apart at the seams.

It's time for us to do emotionally & spiritually what I did physically that night - acknowledge that the candies of this life are just not worth it... and turn around & go home so we can strip this monstrosity off.

Home, by the way, is a place where God is real and you are safe to explore the dangerous message of Christ's grace. For me, that's my church (Grace Church in Hendersonville, TN). It's only in the context of other followers of Christ who are struggling with same tendency to suit up and hide that I can really deal with my personal leanings toward inauthentic and spiritually destructive behavior.

A version of this post originally appeared as part of the NewLife Community Church Grapevine... I've edited and rewritten it because I like you guys.