Take It Off!

February 16, 2021

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24 NIV 

…you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Colossians 3:9-10

The last few years have seen two new shows on television that have genuinely surprised me with their popularity. THE MASKED SINGER and its spin-off THE MASKED DANCER feature public figures performing in front of enthusiastic audiences and knowledgeable judges. They sing or dance in costumes and masks while the judges and crowd collect clues that will help them figure out who the performer is. When it is time for a performer to be revealed, the audiences and judges begin clapping their hands and chanting, “Take it off! Take it off!” The performer slowly and dramatically removes the mask.

“Take it off” is the mantra for the life you and I were meant to live as well. Our true selves quickly get covered up with costumes and masks. Our Father created us to be like God, in true righteousness and holiness, the picture of health, self-respect, and productivity. But before we know it, we, like all the rest of humanity, have completely covered up our likeness to our Creator and our limitless possibilities in our personal efforts to manage life. 

But, that self God created us to be is still there! As David G. Benner describes in his book The Gift of Being Yourself: The Sacred Call to Self-Discovery, “Beneath the roles and masks lies the possibility of a self that is as unique as a snowflake. It is an originality that has existed since God first loved us into existence. Our true self in Christ is the only self that will support authenticity. It and it alone provides an identity that is eternal.”

God loves each of us exactly as we are, but He knows that not everything that currently makes us who we are is worth holding on to. He knows we have warps and limps that render us unable to thrive. We keep falling prey to the old ways that steal our peace and potential. God calls to us, “Take it off! Take it off!!” Our joy will flow from obedience in identifying our old self and taking off the practices and habits that compose it. This is not something God will do with a “magic wand.” It is something we consciously choose to do in obedience.

Take it off.

• What are you doing that belongs to your old life? Where is God calling, “Take it off!”