The Great Cover-up

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“Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered” (Psalm 32:1).

It’s Halloween and the season of disguises. Some are scary others funny, but all carry the same theme of covering up our identities. As I prepare to greet the revelry of trick or treaters that will parade by our doorstep tonight I’m wearing a mask of my own. It’s not visible to the human eye, but my Heavenly Father sees it because it’s written on my heart—I’m a pretender, a fixer and a cover-up artist.

This morning a close friend shared a message that hit home for me. She used the analogy of trying to hang a cross on her wall without measuring the space it should fit. Inevitably she wound up with several holes in her wall because she mixed her mark. As she placed the cross on the wall and centered it to cover the holes she’d created an epiphany struck. Only Jesus can cover our holes, our sins, with His cross of sacrifice and love. We can’t, but oh how we try!

All October I attempted to fill the voids in my life with things that didn’t alleviate the pain. I'd rush ahead of Jesus, anxious to check off another item on my massive “to do” list. All this activity has rendered me useless; left me depleted and disappointed. As a new homeowner I am patching up physical holes on the walls of a previously owned house, a convenient distraction for spiritual reflection. Those are not the holes I should be concerned about. It’s my bad attitude, my unforgiving heart and whole litany of sins that no amount of make-up or home decorating can remove. I need help!

Why does it take me so long to realize that unconfessed sin is my problem, and that the Lord is waiting for me to seek His grace and forgiveness? Can you relate? After I read my girlfriend’s email I thanked God for using her to convict me of the spiritual holes I was trying to repair in my own strength. Then I asked the Holy Spirit to hear my confession and cover me with the precious blood of the Lamb of God.

Jesus is more than a cover-up for our transgressions. He’s the complete Remover and Eraser of sin and the Redeemer of our souls! No customs, no gimmicks, no tricks. Only peace and grace and a host of treats await those who knock on God’s door. Will you? “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered” (Psalm 32:1).

Your fellow herald for Christ,

Mary

The Narrow Golden Gate

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

Fresh from our weekend trip to San Francisco, my husband and I are reliving the experience in our daily conversations with friends and strangers alike. We are excited to share our adventure when the opportunity arises; lingering in the memory of the beauty our senses absorbed. It was our first visit to that part of California, and we discovered places that area natives rarely see. One particular jewel was Muir Woods located twenty minutes north of San Francisco. It truly is God’s cathedral adorned with giant redwoods towering gracefully towards the heavens. This was our favorite spot followed by the famed Golden Gate Bridge. It was there that the Father taught me a lesson about faith.

At first glance, we could not see the cables that supported the bridge. Everything was covered in a thick fog that made walking across the bridge seem treacherous. The wind was blowing, the surface below us shook, and visibility was no more than a few feet ahead of us. It was like walking in the middle of a cloud, and I was disappointed. Snapping photos of my husband leaning over the bridge gave the illusion he was high on top of a mountain with no vision of the earth and water below him. We’d looked forward to this trip for weeks; now it appeared we wouldn’t see the magnificent cable structure of the bridge. The fog was just too thick.

Should we keep walking, or should we turn around like so many others before us had? Part of us wanted to relinquish, but our instincts told us not to. This would be our only chance to see the Golden Gate Bridge as we were driving to Monterey the following morning. If we remained patient maybe we’d see the skies clear, even if only for a minute. I clutched our camera close to me, hoping to see the sun burn away the clouds. I didn’t want to risk missing a chance to capture a glimpse of this engineering marvel.

Suddenly, the vision we’d hoped for appeared as the sunlight peaked through the clouds. I looked up and saw the orange bridge tower and cable structure through the haze. “There it is!” I shouted to Jon, who lifted his eyes too. The fog continued to tease us as it covered and revealed the bridge in short intervals. Like a dance we were part of but not controlling, our footsteps moved in rhythm to the wind, and we walked on in great anticipation of another view. Going half-way or turning around was no longer an option. We were in it for the duration of the adventure.

Minutes later the blue sky defeated the fog and the city of San Francisco could be seen from the bridge. Gazing on the ocean hundreds of feet below us, we took pictures of the scenery from every vantage point available. We’d crossed over to the sunny side of the bridge and were reaping the rewards of persistence! As we turned to retrace our steps back towards the car, we entered the fog once more. It was then I felt the Lord teaching me how to walk through the narrow gate of faith He’d constructed. The parallels between the fog on the Golden Gate Bridge and lack of clarity we experience in our daily faith walk became all too clear.

When circumstances blind my vision of the future will I retreat in fear or press on believing God will be my guide? When the winds of change shake the foundation under my feet, will I keep walking confidently trusting Jesus to support me just as I trusted the Golden Gate Bridge cables? Will I choose the narrow path that leads to eternal life believing what the Bible says regardless of how clouded life appears? Or will I back away and give up pursuing a deeper relationship with Christ because it seems too mysterious? Do I need proof God is faithful before I will follow Him without question into the mist? My prayer is for God to strengthen my faith and trust in Him alone, replacing what my easily fooled senses tell me.

All I cannot see is more real than everything my eyes behold daily. Heaven is merely beyond the fog of earth. I do not want to walk through the clear wide gate that offers knowledge without eternal hope. I pray to stay close to my King; letting Him help me walk through the clouds of uncertainty. I do not need to understand why something is temporarily blocked from my view. I only desire to know, with the eyes of my heart, that I’m walking through the narrow golden gate towards heaven’s front door, where Jesus welcomes me in. “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

Your fellow sojourner,

Mary