“But whatever is hidden cannot be loved.”

A thought by John Ortberg (2015-05-05) from his book, Life-Changing Love: Moving God's Love from Your Head to Your Heart (p. 188). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

But for so many of us we feel that we won’t be loved if we don’t hide. As John says, “I hide because I’m afraid that if the full truth about me is known I won’t be loved. But whatever is hidden cannot be loved. I can only be loved to the extent that I am known. I can only be fully loved if I am fully known. When I hide parts of myself, I seek to convince another person I am better than I am. If I’m a good enough hider, I may get away with it. The other person may express affection and love for me. But always comes the voice inside me: Yes, but if you knew the truth about me, if you saw the hidden places, you would not love me. You love the person you think I am. You do not love the real me, for you do not know the real me.”

But John goes on to say, “In Phantom of the Opera, the phantom wears a mask to hide his horribly disfigured face. He lives in the bowels of the old opera house, to cloak his presence and bitter misdeeds. But the woman Christine touches his heart. At the climax of the story, his mask is removed. In that moment he chooses to be known, to be seen. He knows that his face is hideous; he waits for her to scream in terror, but she does not. Her heart is moved by compassion and pity. She does not turn away. She gently kisses his scarred face. And her love changes him, at least a little. He is able to let her go, to give her her freedom, even though he knows it is the end of his dream. When he was able to stop hiding for a moment, he could be known and loved as he was, even in all his disfigurement. First the mask must come off. Then love can penetrate the heart.”

And that is true of us. “First the mask must come off. Then love can penetrate the heart.” And that is where real love comes from. But of course there is a risk but it can be so worth it.

So what is it you are hiding?

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