What These Glasses Hide...

Have you ever wondered why Clark Kent hid Superman with glasses?

Was he trying to keep his identity safe, OR was he trying to save his identity?

Superman used Clark to blend in. Although he did possess super powers, he still had human needs. If you examine his life, you can easily see his imperfections; fear of abandonment, fear of commitment, and of course, his biggest weakness, kryptonite. These imperfections existed inside a man who could literally bench press a ship!

As onlookers watching the movie we were able to see the "big picture"of why he hid so much, why he was so unstable as Clark Kent, and sometimes unfocused as Superman. We saw the complex plot that required him to sacrifice his selfish desires in order to save the world.

As Superman he was perfect.

As Clark he was human.

But to the onlooker, he was just trying...

Trying to save the world... trying to do his best... trying to do what was right... trying to not let people down... The battle between the human character and the supernatural abilities, were hard to integrate, leaving people around him to question who he really was.

Underneath my glasses I am an imperfect "superhero". I recognize the power and strength I have in Christ, but I often become distracted and overwhelmed by the burden of trying.

In many ways, we all wear our own glasses. None of us are as one dimensional as we portray ourselves to be. We engage with the world as teacher, leader, mother, mentor, while disguising our human imperfections. Some days our imperfections get the best of us, but our desire to try still exists. We focus heavily on what others perceive us to be, and get discouraged when we cant live up to those expectations.

For the good intentioned folks, perceived expectations, are our kryptonite. They dampen our ability to fully function. Instead of focusing on the task we focus on our weaknesses. What we fail to see is that by trying, we are already meeting expectations.

James 1:3-4 says, "Knowing this, that the TRYING of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."

In other words, your "trying" is enough. The objective was never to hit the mark, but to press towards it. The very thing that makes you appear to be weak, is actually making you stronger.

There will be times of instability. You will sometimes lose your focus, but our identity does not lie in others' perceptions, they lie within our own ability to persevere.

" Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is TRIED, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him."