"Is there anyone that fails?
is there anyone that falls?
Am I the only one in church today feeling so small?
Because when I take a look around, everybody seems so strong
I know they'll soon discover that I don't belong.
So I tuck it all away - Like everything's okay
If I make them all believe it - Maybe I'll believe it too!
So with a painted grin, I play the part again - so everyone will see me
the way that I see them!
Are we happy plastic people under shiny plastic steeples?
With walls around our weakness, and smiles to hide our pain?
But if the invitation's open to every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we'll close the curtain on our Stained Glass Masquerade." ~Casting Crowns
This has been one of my favorite songs ever since I first heard it after buying the album. This song could have been written by me - I know what it is like to feel out of place at church, to have secrets burdening me, wishing I could share them with someone. But, like many people, I feared that if I revealed my struggeles, that I didn't have it all together, I would somehow be shunned or rejected, or just viewed differently.
I always wonder: why, when we struggle, stumble or fall, do we as Christian feel like those in the Body are the LAST people we can tell? Why do we feel we have to "get it together" when we are at church, or around church friends? Shouldn't our brothers and sisters in Christ be the first people we go to for help and support?
I know for me, it was always fear of being judged, or worse - being the only one who struggled, being the only one who needed help. What if I was some kind of freak, the only one who speaks up about a real struggle, and then waits in the awkward silence that follows....
I can't make it "safe" for people to tell those in the church what they are going through. What I can do is challenge my fellow brothers and sisters reading this: be the kind of Christian friend who it is safe to come to, with whom it is safe to disclose fears, struggles, doubt, and pain. BE the change in the church. I'm not saying you should condone something that is wrong, but rather exhort and encourage your brother or sister. Carry their pain, let them cry on your shoulder, provide accountablity in struggles, and pray for them in all circumstances. Stand up, let the love of Jesus flow through you, and let us all be transparent with one another again.
There is freedom in revealing the truth to one another, and encouragement in bearing eachother's burdens. "When the invitation's open, to every heart that has been broken, maybe then we'll close the curtain on our Stained Glass Masquerade."
