Yesterday's news of the passing of Robin Williams - like so much of death - is too much for many of us to fully comprehend. It leaves us asking questions, knowing that any answers we piece together will be too weak to really stand on their own. But we ask them anyway: wasn't Robin Williams too talented, too unique to die like that? How come someone so successful could meet such an ending? And how come someone who made so many of us so happy could struggle so much to find happiness for himself?
All of us live two lives, the public version of who we want to be and the private reality of who we are. While much of our wider culture encourages us to pursue success in the former and do whatever we want in the latter, Jesus calls us to something better. He reminds us that nothing is truly private from Him. Nothing is hidden. Everything is visible.
Part of the power of sung worship comes when crowds gather together in public and make a joyful noise to our Creator God. Yet in all this excitement and energy there exists the danger that we might allow the gap between our own public and private lives to widen. We can get carried away and out of balance. We can become someone we're not called to be.
So as we remember Robin Williams with both sorrow and smiles, let's ask ourselves the really vital questions: how big is the gap between the person that we show the world and the person that only God sees? Are there parts of us that we are just a little too desperate to hide? What might happen if we let others see our struggles and failings?
If any of the above sets your heart racing a beat or two faster, it's time to do something about it. God wants you to be open, honest and ready to accept His forgiveness more than He wants you to appear perfect and blemish-free.