Hidden Color

It’s not the same as where I grew up.

Nothing can quite compare with all of the amazing color displays we would see every fall in New England.

Fall colors in the back yard where I grew up

In California, many people plant exotic species to try to pick up some of that fall feel.

The Chinese Pistache tree in our front yard in Fresno, California

But this whole fall color thing is really amazing.  If I recall some of my biology properly, the colors we see in the fall are present all year round, but are masked by the chlorophyll.  Then, before the tree starts shutting down for the winter, a lot of nutrients and stuff are shuttled out of the leaves and into the tree.

First the leaves change color.

Then the leaves fall off.

(Unlike my hair, most of which fell out before the rest started turning gray.)

As a result, we get to enjoy this awesome color display each year in climates that are conducive to it.

In Thailand, we don’t get in on this phenomena.  (But we also don’t get the cold weather, either, so I guess that’s a bit of a tradeoff for us.)

I don’t suppose God had to make things as pretty as this, but He did, and I’m glad for it.

I think people can often be like these trees.  Sometimes, when we first meet people, we don't see what they are really like.  We may never see it.  Often we are wearing masks, so people won't see the real us.  We may do this intentionally or unintentionally. Sometimes our low self-esteem makes us think people won't like us if they really knew us.  Or there might be some secret that we try to hide--some event from our past (or present) that if people knew about, would really change how they felt about us.   Sometimes, we may have some character flaws that we try to keep under control (which can be a good thing, if they are damaging traits).

Often, it is during times of stress, when our true colors come out.  Good character qualities may come out when we have to rise to an occasion. Our more negative traits may show when we lose control.

Why are we so afraid to be ourselves, to show our true colors?  Do we have a lot of skeletons in our closet?  It seems like wearing a mask is often the norm in society.

One of the more interesting compliments Jesus makes about someone is in John 1:47, when Jesus approaches Nathanael for the first time.

When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." (NIV)
 
The New Living Translation puts it: he was a man of complete integrity.  This is the only one of his disciples about whom  Jesus makes this statement.  Was he the only one who wasn't afraid to be himself?  Was it because he was the only one of the twelve who had nothing to hide?

We don't get to see the pretty colors of the trees but once a year, and that just before they fall off.

 But we can be people of integrity all year round.  How good it would be if we didn't hide parts of ourselves because we had nothing to hide.

Paul writes of a day when this will happen.

Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:12 (NIV)

In heaven, there will be no more masks--no more hiding.  It will be like switching from the monotone green of summer to the brilliant blend of colors of fall.  And all of our beauty, which may have been hidden by our sin all of our lives, will shine for all to see.