Masquerade Ball

A masquerade ball (or bal masqué) is an event which the participants attend in costume wearing a mask -Wikipedia.


I have come to realise that living in this world is somehow like being in a masquerade ball. We walk around wearing masks and thus we never really reveal our true self.


Albeit this trait is common with most of us, it's more conspicuous with believers. We go around parading ourselves as people trying to live on the straight and narrow while in actual sense we are living double lives.


Keeping up appearances can be such a hustle and we all know that the 'truth will out'. Hence it's high time as believers we take our stand and decide whether we are hot or cold. Let us rid ourselves of whatever masks we have been hiding behind and be ourselves.


This life is too short to live a lie.


I choose to live for Christ.


What about you?

The Final Level

Level 6: GROOM/BRIDE RELATIONSHIP

 

Once a woman becomes a bride, the focus of her life and priorities change, and all other people and priorities pale in comparison to her primary love relationship. Again, this metaphor illustrates a much deeper truth- God desires for us to love Him passionately, to find it delightful to simply be in His presence, and to know Him personally both publicly and privately. He longs for our focus and priorities to become aligned with His.

Perhaps you can imagine relating to God as Father, Saviour, or Lord but are struggling with the idea of relating to God like you would a husband. While some may even say that it’s irreverent to relate to God in such an intimate way, God has always longed for this kind of relationship with His chosen people. He said through the prophet Hosea, “I will betroth you to me forever, I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord” (2:19-20).

God extends to us an eternal commitment of love so deep, so wide and so great that we cannot possibly fully understand it. This gift should inspire us to reciprocate with as equal a gift of love as is humanly possible. What started out as an engagement relationship between God and His own in the Garden of Eden will come to fullness at the wedding supper of the Lamb when Jesus Christ returns to claim His bride, the church.

So how can you cultivate a bridal love for Jesus and enjoy this intimate relationship that He longs to have with you? By falling in love with Him and attempting to pursue Him as passionately as He has been pursuing us all along.

Courtesy of Jack Hill

Extracted from ‘Every Young Woman’s Battle’

By Shannon Ethridge & Stephen Arterburn

Level Five

FATHER/CHILD RELATIONSHIP

As we realize and accept the truth that we are not just God’s lump of clay, sheep, servant or even friend, but also God’s very own child, we can experience tremendous healing from childhood wounds and disappointments. We can allow God to be the Father or the Mother (He possesses the good qualities of both genders) that we so needed or wanted. We can be free from the burden of trying to perform or produce for Him when we understand that He loves us not for what we do but because we are His children. As wonderful and healing as a father/child relationship is, the groom/bride relationship promises the most intimate connection of all.

Level Four

FRIEND/FRIEND RELATIONSHIP 

 

A servant’s relationship with his/her master rests on business and performance, while love and mutual concern from the basis of a friend’s relationship with a friend. Jesus spoke about this deeper level of intimacy that He shared with His disciples when He said, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s (personal) business. Instead I call you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15). Jesus is saying, “I value you not just because of how you serve me, but because you share my heart.” A friend’s value lies not so much in what he/she does, but in who he/she is as a personal confidant.

God wants to be our friend, and He wants us to be His friends. We can experience this friendship level of intimacy. As James 2:23 tells us, “And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God’s friend.” Also, Proverbs 22:11 says, “He who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious will have the king for his friend.”

Yet even as close as two friends can be, blood runs thicker than water.

Level Three

MASTER/SERVANT RELATIONSHIP

While sheep stay outside, servants at least live in the same household as the master and talk with Him as long as it is business. The servant enjoys a more intimate relationship. The parable of the talents (see Matthew 25:14-30) and the parable of the ten minas (see Luke 19:11-27) refer to this level of this relationship. However, servants know little of what is happening with the master, other than what they are directly involved with. A servant’s value is derived from how well he/she can complete the master’s will. While it is important for us to serve God wholeheartedly and do His will, God stills longs to have an even greater level of intimacy that this.