Who are you?  So often we give superficial responses to that question about our career, hobbies, club memberships, parents or children, without really answering the question at all.  I have come to believe that the true answer lies well below the surface of our normal responses, and is often found in the scars that we are more likely to cover up than bare.

We put on masks and try to cover our true identity, we build walls to protect our heart from being broken again, and with each hurt another brick is added and another mask is donned.  And though their intention is to protect, our walls only serve to isolate and our masks ultimately smoother any hope of finding true freedom.  For me, my mask was that of being a people pleaser, and it was born out of insecurity, for you it may be among other things, rage, pride, or that of being a victim; my walls were designed to make me feel safe in an effort to deal with issues of fear, yours walls may be those of resentment, jealousy, or divisiveness, just to name a few.  Whatever the case the only way to truly be happy and live out your ultimate purpose is to tear down your walls, take off your masks and live in the freedom you were created to enjoy.

The song “Free” from my “Songs of a Wilderness Traveler” CD is one of the most personal song I’ve ever written.  It embodies the theme of the entire project.  All 13 songs on the CD were written during a three year “wilderness” period of my life in which I learned a lot about who I was and wasn’t.  It was through this experience that I became much more aware of how relevant God is in my own life.  The songs address my feelings of fear and insecurity and journal my struggles as I learned to accept my scars, and even allow God’s love to finally bring healing to many old wounds.

I have come to realize all the more that we were created in the image of God, and that makes each of us beautiful (Genesis 1:27: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.), and we were all created for a purpose and that makes all of us relevant. (Ephesians 2:10, For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.)

You are beautiful in God’s eyes, and you are relevant in His Kingdom, so tear down you walls, take off your masks and live in the freedom that can only be found in Him.

John 8:36

Tom