1 Thessalonians 2:8 – So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

I print everything.  I know how to write in cursive, and I have good penmanship but, more often than not, I choose to print.  I have read that people who print everything do it because they are hiding something, or don’t want to reveal too much of themselves.  I am not sure that’s true, but I don’t know for sure. 

As the mask debate rages on in our country, the truth is that most of us wear some kind of mask.  There is something about us, or our lives, that we are trying to hide or don’t want to reveal.  We may be insecure about certain things.  We may have things in our past that we are ashamed of or embarrassed by.  Maybe we have been hurt by others in the past, or we are afraid of being hurt if we share too much.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica, ‘we were ready to share…our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.” As Christians, we are called to love one another, encourage one another, serve one another, bear one another’s burdens, to confess our sins to one another, and forgive one another. As the family of God, we are to share ourselves with each other.  Our true, genuine self. After all, our authentic self is much more interesting than our perfectly curated self anyway. 

God has given us the Church, His body, to endure and thrive in this life.  We are to love God, love our neighbor and love ourselves.  To truly love one another we have to want to spend time with, and share our lives with, one another.  Begin to take off your mask and share yourself with your brothers and sisters. Slowly, if you must.  The family of God, the Church, will be stronger the more authentic we become.