Ephesians 6:12 English Standard Version (ESV) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

We currently live in a time of a new struggle. It is not new that we struggle in life. That is one of the signs of live, we struggle. We give it a name so that we can speak to it with commonality. We are given a sense of unity if we all have one enemy. I could lay out a long list of things the human struggles. What most of them have in common is that they are external in nature. They are threats to a peaceful life.

At the time of Paul’s writing above he refers to a present darkness. The fledgling church had an active opponent trying to kill this threat to his realm, the prince of the power of the air. Christians were an effective threat to his realm. Evil was easily identified because it was exceedingly evil. Over time it forced that enemy to be less obvious. If he could be thought of as defeated, his threats were not as obvious.

With all that is going on in the world during this present darkness we do not see him as the author of evil and we focus on the struggle. He enjoys that position of ignorance for in focusing on the struggle we fail to remember the war. Did the devil invent plagues? No, he has no power over material things. He does however influence the emotional reaction with lies, innuendoes and fears of helplessness.

That is the real danger, loss of hope. Not of wishful thinking but of the power of God to effect this physical world. God can control what He creates. Some have called for unity in prayer. Have you heard their cry? Does it move you to pray?

Better yet, have you heard from God in enacting His will now?

2 Corinthians 3:18 English Standard Version (ESV) And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

We hide behind masks because we know what we are and in that knowledge do not want to share our innermost shame. The issue at this moment is not about our good conscience, it is about vision. The mask will hide how we feel from others but it also blocks our vision. Think about it in these terms, it’s a lie.

We all have a past and Christ forgave us our sins and continues to do so for what we continue to do that troubles us. Paul’s confession in Romans 8:15 makes it clear that the good conscience is troubled by our very own behaviors. We are not perfect in everything we do. The cleansing of our conscience comes through honest confession of condition which means taking off our masks.

Some complain about their ability to see Christ in others but is it because of their mask or our own? It is our first responsibility to pluck the splitter from our own eye before trying to help another. (Matt. 7:3-5) The expression unveiled is in reference to the flesh, that the veil is flesh. Hebrews 10:20 defines the veil of the temple that prevented us from entering in was the flesh of Christ. That, being removed, torn from top to bottom, is no longer an obstacle. Our flesh on the other hand, still remains.

The only thing hindering our transformation into His image is our flesh. This is why Paul encourages us over and over again to abstain from fleshly lusts of all types. It is a hindrance in allowing His glory, which resides in us, from shining forth. By wearing a mask we make it all about us rather than Christ.