You Are Created For...Sample

Although the man and his wife were naked, they were not ashamed of each other. (Genesis 2:25)

They were not ashamed. In the relationship, there is vulnerability and openness.

Each of us does our best to hide behind a mask. Some people use their intelligence as a mask. Others use ignorance. Some conceal themselves in business, in their work, in their great abilities and success. Some people have high-tech masks. Some people's mask is spirituality or religion. What is your mask? If you're not sure, the people closest to you can tell you.

If you wear a mask in front of your heart, if you really become good at figuring out what other people want and then giving it to them, if you perfect the art of projecting the right kind of image - you can impress some people. But you will be a little less alive every day. You may impress people, but you won't go into a relationship.

A friend of mine said that one wonderful thing about children is that they are not taught to control their faces. Whether the ice cream truck comes, or they eat spinach, or there's a monster under their bed - their faces tell you what's in their hearts.

As we grow older, we learn to control our faces. We learn to hide. We practice our faces to look confident when our hearts are afraid, to look strong when our hearts are sad. The irony is that we are attracted to people who live with vulnerability.

To be vulnerable in relationships is to have the courage to give up trying to please everyone in my life. It is to have the courage to openly acknowledge when I'm wrong, not to hide it but to admit and deal with it. It is to have the courage to acknowledge when I'm struggling or failing or struggling.

I always think of Jesus in one of the hardest moments of his life - in the garden of Gethsemane, he was willing to be vulnerable to those closest to Him: 'My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death, stay here with me.' Can you imagine what happened to the disciples with him? Have you ever been with someone you look up to - who is always strong and leading - and suddenly they are vulnerable and share their heart with me? There is trust, acceptance, and love in the relationship.

We cannot enter into a relationship if we don't have the courage to be vulnerable.