Tightly Wrapped

We live in a world that is all about instant gratification. Can't wait long enough for something to cook on the stove or oven? Microwave it! When heating food in the microwave, we have to use plastic wrap as opposed to foil. There are practical reasons for that, but that's another story.

However, for our hearts, minds & souls, we have the choice of see thru plastic wrap or aluminum foil. The Bible tells us to be transparent before the Lord and one another. Our 'true self ' should be visible to anyone looking. That's a lot easier to say than to do. We are more a foil kind of people. We wrap our true selves up in the vision blocking foil and only let show what we want to show and to whom we want to show it. Ever do this with God? A true waste of time.

This example comes from a time when our grandchildren lived with us. I witnessed my granddaughter making the foil or plastic wrap choice. She had to keep a journal for her counselor (plastic wrap kind of stuff). The counselor and I were the only ones allowed to see it. One night the child wrote some very angry, hate-filled words about her brothers. Her anger came from them not believing her. At that time, it was no secret she had trouble telling the truth; the end result was that it was hard for anyone to believe her. Usually, her anger was more 'vocal' when she's lying and last night was one of those times. To take the focus off of herself, she projected it on to them.

Sound familiar? Do you try to redirect the focus onto something or someone else when you don't want to face your own accountability? It's easy to point a finger at someone else when we feel we're in the hot seat.

The next morning, she got up and erased all the ugly things she said about her brothers in the journal so her counselor wouldn't see them. She basically wrapped that part of herself up in foil in an efforts to present a better image to the counselor. The situation hadn't changed, the end result was still the same but she made very sure she was foil wrapped. What she had not considered was that both the counselor and I knew her well; all the foil in the world wasn't going to change that. Just as God knows us.

We can make a pretty, shiny foil covered package for the world to see but God knows the inner feelings, thoughts and actions regardless of all the foil. She was a child and thought as a child. We, however, are supposed to have put away our childish ways and think as an adult. We, as Christians, are suppose to be maturing in our walk with Christ; becoming less and less the spiritually childish human as we become more Christ centered. We are to be more like Him and less like our old pre-Christian self.

Basically, we are to lose the foil and grab the plastic wrap. So, that's my prayer for us today. I pray that we will all take our comfort from Christ instead of the foil wrap in which we've covered ourselves. I pray that we peel away the foil and ask God to help us be more transparent with Him and one another. I pray that as we step out of the darkness of foil we are able to feel confident and strong; trusting in Jesus to keep us safe, instead of our own abilities.

There's a lot more 'light' when you look through Saran Wrap. As a Christian that 'Light' is Jesus.

"This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine..............."