No Burkhas Allowed

I usually attend church in Brooklyn Park, MN at Edinbrook Church. The senior pastor, Ivan Veldhuizen, delivered a message last week that spoke straight to my soul. It was entitled "No Burkas Allowed." A Brukha, as defined by (what would we do without) Wikipedia, is "an enveloping outer garment worn by women in Islamic cultutures for the purpose of cloaking the entire body. It is worn over the usual daily clothing and removed when the woman returns to the sanctuary of the household." The defining fact about Burkhas is that they cover the entire face except for the eyes, hiding the beauty of most women.

Pastor Ivan explained that in Afghanistan recently, a sect of Islam delcared that Burkhas were too revealing, although they covered the entirety of the women except their eyes. It was being found that some women were winking at men, and the Islamic leadership demanded that new Burkhas would need to additionally cover one eye, making an attempted wink look simply like a blink.

The question posed was... Why are Christians wearing Burkhas?! Our faith is so beatiful, it's so important. If it really is the most important thing in the world to us, we'd be ripping off the Burkhas that are covering our faith and spend every waking moment trying to show the beauty of the gospel to the world! I, like most of the Church in America, wear a Burkha all too often. The only way that the world is going to see the great beatuy of salvation is if we break free from the prison of Burkhas covering our Christianity and live with a sense of urgency to save the lost. I am as guilty as any, complacent in my Christian Burkha. I pray that God will inject me with a burning compassion to show His love to all the world. Take off your Burkha and share God's beauty with all!