Monday, January 02, 2012

Covering Up

We spend most of our lives trying to "create" who we are. Making a name for ourselves, acquiring titles, accepting and rejecting labels, defining and redefining who we are, projecting an image (or not projecting an image), and I could go on and on and on with the cliches. Making sure that others understand who we believe ourselves to be seems to be of utmost importance and we do this through all the things we put on: clothing, titles, etc. 

In Genesis 2:25, we are told that Adam & Eve were naked and not ashamed. If you read on to chapter 3, you'll see that they stayed that way until they had both eaten the fruit of the tree. It was at that point that they realized two things: 1, that there was a difference between good and evil and 2, that they weren't wearing anything. So the two of them attempted to create something to cover who they were. The sad thing is, until they disobeyed God, they had no reason to cover up; there was nothing evil about them, nothing that they should have been ashamed of. The irony of eating the fruit is that the very first thing that they were able to see once their eyes were opened was that they shouldn't have eaten the fruit.

After this, they heard God walking in the garden and tried to hide their nakedness. Okay, so you might be thinking, well, they were being modest, you know, in the presence of God, that they realized that being naked was wrong or something. The truth is, they were afraid to be naked in the presence of God (Genesis 3:10). If you think about it, it's pretty funny but kind of sad. I mean, God made them! He knew exactly who they were and what they looked like underneath their coverings.

Don't we try to do the same though? We try to hide ourselves behind our labels and our image in the presence of God, like he doesn't already know who and what we are. Since the infamous fruit-eating incident, we have known that there is both good and evil within us and around us, and somehow we trick ourselves into thinking that God won't see the evil if we cover it up.

Perhaps what we need to do is revisit the happy times where humankind was not afraid to be naked in the presence of God. He's probably asking us "Where are you?" So let me ask you the same: where are you when you hear the presence of God? Are you hiding under a mountain of labels, making a fashion statement, wearing all kinds of hats? Or, are you naked, and not ashamed to be that way in His presence? God doesn't care about what you put on, he wants to know where you are when his presence is near. Don't hide, He made you! He knows exactly who you are and what you look like underneath your coverings.

Be blessed and shine truthfully!

6 comments:

  1. Hi Shani,
    Good to hear from you via CB page.
    A very thought provoking piece.
    Unfortunately we all do this, try to
    hide everything from an All knowing God!
    So sad that as if we do not know this great
    truth, Notice that before His eyes
    every thing is open and naked.
    Let us be more vigilant.
    Thanks for sharing this interesting and informative piece
    Best
    Keep Inform
    Philip Ariel

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    1. Hey PV! Thanks for stopping by! And we definitely do! We somehow get the idea the because we can't see God all the time, he can't see us, instead of just coming before God with all our flaws and issues.

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  2. I've pondered about this as well...there is a Psalm (I can't remember which one) where David says he poured out his heart to God and in the footnotes of my Bible it said that pour out your heart can also be translated as "naked." Maybe to be broken and forgetting about our pretentious coverings, is a beautiful, Edenlike thing to the Lord.

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    1. You know, Chanda, I think it is. And we get so caught up in the images that we project for this world, that we forget that God doesn't care about and doesn't need any of that.

      P.S. If you find that psalm, let me know!

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  3. I was meditating on your words which are great and the thought occurred to me that long ago in that garden. Adam and Eve sinned and the first thing that came about was nakedness. It shamed them as you have pointed out, do you not think it is ironic, for lack of a better word, that the enemy makes people believe that it is not a shame to be naked? We have lost the shame of our nakedness on so many levels, that we no longer feel the need for God to cover us. You know they tried to cover up with vegetation, but God covered them with animal skins. It was the first place of sacrifice to cover sins. The devil says, let it all hang out. Your body is beautiful, God wouldn't want you to cover up your nakedness???? Really, God is the one who covered them to begin with. Moving it to the spiritual realm, when we try to cover our nakedness with anything other than God and the blood of Jesus, such as the labels, titles and such you mentioned, aren't we in reality trying in vain to cover up with vegetation just as Adam and Eve did?

    I really liked this post! You did a fantastic job with it....

    I'm hid with Christ!
    Shawn

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    1. Hi Shawn! You're right about Jesus being our spiritual covering, voiding the need for us to create any of our own. And this world has truly made us so afraid to be vulnerable, even in the sight of God. Thanks for commenting!

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A person finds joy in giving an apt reply—
and how good is a timely word! -Prov 15:23