"naked"

Have you ever had the infamous “underwear dream”? You know-the one where you are at school or work and suddenly you realize you only have on your underwear. Yikes! Believe it or not, there are entire web-sites out there dedicated to helping you interpret this terrible nightmare.

I’m sitting here this morning thinking about the “red thread” that I tied around my wrist this weekend. I am about to get dressed for the day. What will I choose? My new DKNY shirt and jeans? My black leather boots? Clothes are a necessary part of life. If we don’t wear them, we are naked. People will see us in all our glory! We can’t have that, can we? I want to be attractive not repulsive, right!

It hasn’t always been this way though. In the beginning, the first humans wore no clothing at all and were very comfortable with it. The Bible says they were “naked and unashamed”. How is that possible? Let me give you my take on this.

In other places in scripture, people who had close encounters with God were impacted by what is called God’s glory. As a matter of fact, His glory would somehow permeate them and would then eminate or shine out from them as well. This happened to Moses when he spent time in God’s presence on the Mountain where he received the Ten Commandments. His face shone so brightly that he had to wear a covering over it. Scripture tells us that “God is light” and that He dwells in “unapproachable light”. (I John 1:5, I Tim. 6:16)

Could it be that Adam and Eve enjoyed such a dynamic relationship with God that they were clothed with His light? They did take daily walks with God himself you know? Were they completely saturated by the light of His presence? So much so that even when He was not present they were still clothed?

This could explain a whole lot for me. You might remember that they disobeyed God and “At that moment, their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they strung fig leaves together around their hips to cover themselves.” Gen. 3:7 They “suddenly” realized they were naked? What happened? Could it be that God’s presence was removed from their lives, and they were immediately exposed? Could it be that in that moment people who before were primarily God-conscious and others- conscious “suddenly” became self-conscious? Were they diverted from basking in the beauty and glory of another only to be consumed in self –absorption?

What happens next is the very natural attempt to cover self. Self is going to be a big focus from now on.

God comes looking for them and asks “Where are you?” He finds them hiding and asks them why. “Because we were afraid and we were naked,” they replied. God then asks “Who told you that you were naked?” He then made coverings for them. Those two questions are fascinating to me. I believe that God wants us to realize that apart from Him we are exposed. “Where are you?” is a question asked for my benefit not God’s. “Who told you that you were naked?” is a compassionate question.

God knows we have an enemy that seeks to expose and condemn us in our failures and weaknesses leaving us ashamed of who we are. Where are you today? Do you feel exposed? Have you made some elaborate covering for yourself? God has a tailor made garment made of “red thread” for each of us that does much more than just cover our physical bodies. When we clothe ourselves in Christ, He replaces our sin-tattered garment and brings us back in line with the Master Designer's original pattern for our lives.

Come close to Him today. Don’t let anything or anyone come between you.

"Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him." 2 Cor. 3

"Get out of bed and get dressed! Don't loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!" Rom. 13:14 msg.

Chris