For all intents and purposes, it looked just like it did the last time I had used it some 10 years or so ago. Attached to the same Sweetgum and Holly trees…Lag screws still holding their galvanized glimmer…Black paint still covering the strong 2X4 that was used to hoist the bounty of the hunt when the deer hunt was successful…Outwardly it still looked the same…Outwardly. The operative terms in the statements above are indeed the two words, “covering” and “outwardly”. The outward appearance of the old deer skinning pole in Dad’s back yard would give you the assumption that it was capable of hoisting yet another buck, but appearances and assumptions can sometimes be deceiving, because “outward” “coverings” can oftentimes be a disguise that keeps us from being aware of a serious problem that lies underneath.
Obviously, this little phenomenon isn’t just relegated to taking place with rotting boards, dying trees, and rusting screws. We humans have become masters at the art of covering up bad habits, poor decisions, hurtful experiences, and checkered pasts. Only our cover-ups don’t include paint and preservatives, they include fake smiles, secret lives, silent treatments, and lies, lies, lies. Why do we do that? I’m not sure either.
To use the picture above as the basis for an analogy, let me begin with the paint. The black paint on the board caused me to think that the board still had it going on. Still strong enough to do what it had always done…but that wasn’t true. Rot had stolen the strength from the once-stout beam. Sound familiar? Sometimes we smile and cause folks to assume that we’ve got it all together when, in reality, we are deteriorating inside. Paint jobs don’t solve anything when the underlying problem hasn’t been addressed. The screws that held the apparatus to the tree look as though they are good as new, but inside the tree, they had become rusty and weak. The tree itself still looked strong enough, but actually it was broken off at the top and hollowed out on the inside. You get the idea. A once solid, strong, stout skinning rack had endured all the storms, sunbeams, and termites it could…and it finally fell to pieces.
Thankfully, we don’t have to suffer the same plight as the old skinning rack behind Dad’s house. If – and I realize that the word, “if” just might be the biggest word in the English language…If we are willing to remove our masks, step out from behind our self-made curtains and receive the preserving and restoring power of God in our lives, there is healing and hope and happiness. We have a Savior in Jesus Christ who shouts to all of us, “Come to me all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28). There is a God who encourages us to “Cast all your burdens upon Him, because He cares for you.” (1Peter 5:7). The reason Christ can offer these things to us is because He alone has defeated the deteriorating monster of death, offering us the opportunity to enjoy everlasting life both in this life and throughout eternity.
So what’ll it be? Will we continue to put paint over the rotting boards of our lives, or will we allow the Savior to fix the real problem. Truth is that we’ll have to make this decision often. Sometimes we’ll get it right, and sometimes we’ll get it wrong. My prayer is that we’ll consistently make the decision to allow our Maker to fix us rather than choose to apply our own sloppy cover-up job. Now…whether it’s in the shade of a towering lively Oak, or in the shadow of a dead pine, or somewhere in-between, I’ll see you, unmasked, in the Great Outdoors!
Rod & Staff Outdoor Ministries 