Naked And Not In Shame

Naked And Not In Shame

We have all had those moments…
When someone walked in on us…
When we thought we forgot to close the blinds…
When we wonder…. did I remember to lock the door?…

It is un-nerving. Awkward. Uncomfortable. Scary.

Those moments when we hoped that another had not seen our naked-ness. Those moments when we hoped another had not seen past the veil of our covering and clothing to that which is private, that which is protected, that which is intensely personal.

The word naked literally means, “wearing no clothes, lacking covering, not concealed”. It speaks to transparency, being exposed, uncovered, un-adorned. We wear clothes because of the innate desire we all have to cover, to protect and shield that which is private. So we should.

See, our society, and especially the church, is not very kind to naked-ness. Of course, we are not speaking of nakedness in the literal sense, but in the sense of seeing things as they really are. Politicians learn the craft of “double-speak”, and have professional handlers who tell them what to say and when to say it. Business leaders are trained not to speak the truth, but that which will help the stock price and investors confident. Even pro sports teams don’t talk about the actual, but the “hoped for” and “potential”, in the interests of securing fan loyalty and cash.

In the church, the problem is that often we believe that if a person dresses up on Sunday morning, and looks well put together, that their life is also well put together. We put a lot of effort into how we look for Sunday morning, and the un-spoken assumption is that we are all putting as much effort into our private life, our personal world, that which people do not see. So, when the personal and the private comes out and gets un-covered, and it is less than exemplary, we are in shock and awe. We often react with harsh criticism and judgment. We forget that the clothes don’t make the man….that every person who comes to church and life is not perfect and needs to be loved and cared for. As Joyce Meyer has said again and again, “He convicts and convinces me, but NEVER, NEVER will He condemn me.”

I believe God wants to bring us to a place where we are naked and not ashamed. Genesis 2:25 talks about the first people on earth, in the ideal world God had created for them. It says this: “And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.”

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired. Tired of the fake, weary of the cosmetic, exhausted by the counterfeit. I am tired of the games people play in churches where we treat the ones who do not open up about their weakness and sin with honor, just because we don’t know their issues, and treat the ones who do open up about their weakness and wounded-ness and broken-ness and even sin with dishonor and condemnation. Sometimes we even treat them with anger, as if those responses will heal the wounds and cleanse the dirty.

What does God Himself say? What does the Bible speak of? Well, Hebrews 4:13-16 tells us that God already knows all of our issues, so just go to Him without fear, without shame, and without apprehension:
“And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked
and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account… Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

We have all failed, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). This blog will be an attempt to present a real faith; an authentic Christianity where we do not try to present ourselves as whole and perfect, or try to cover up our flaws and failings, and but naked and not ashamed. I want to talk about real people, real issues, real life. Because God has an answer for the real! He does not need us to hide behind the plastic.

And, He can handle it. This may come as a surprise to those believers raised in a sheltered and cocooned environment, protected from the real world, but God can handle our sin and pain and wounds and dysfunction. He saw our sin…saw our shame…saw our pain…saw our wounds…saw our dysfunction… and STILL made the choice to love, value and save us. Actually, Romans 5 tells us this:
“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, no one is likely to die for a good person, though someone might be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us...”

So, we can be naked and not ashamed before Him, and before one another. I hope this blog will be of some help to you.