Get your mind out of the gutter! (Laughs in keyboard speak). I’m sure we’ve all read (or are familiar with) the story of Adam and Eve in the Bible. In the beginning, they were blissfully unaware that they were naked in the presence of themselves and God. But once they ate from the forbidden tree, one of the first things that they learned was just how naked they were. And at this revelation, they ran and grabbed leaves, sewed them together, and covered themselves. Y’all remember that in Genesis 3:7?  

What if I tell you that I now view this teaching in a few different ways? But let me set the foundation before I expound further. 

Cultural Perspective

One of my favorite songs is Naked by Ella Mai. If you listen to the lyrics (or read them because we don’t judge over here), you’ll hear that she seeks a man who truly loves her – fully unclothed, yet it has nothing to do with physical clothing. She desires someone who chooses her despite her morning rituals, nighttime routines, clothing preferences, makeup choices, and all the physical stuff that a lot of us define as love. She wants someone who connects with her – on an intimate level – someone who willingly and voluntarily goes deeper with her and loves her….naked – or in all totality.

Biblical Perspective

Ok, let’s get back to the Bible here. To me, the passage mentioned above, is about more than physical nakedness and clothing. It encompasses so much more that I feel we miss by overly simplifying. Adam and Eve had previously walked with God. They’d always walked with God, and they were always naked whether they were aware or not. The Bible even tells us how close they were despite this nakedness. I want you to understand that them being completely vulnerable in God’s presence was never an issue.

Until it was.

After the fall

After they ate the forbidden fruit, they all of a sudden became aware. And this awareness, served as a separator from God. Now, who they had always been was no longer good enough or appropriate enough for the presence of one as holy as God. So they ran, hid, and sewed leaves together so that they were no longer naked.

This passage is so good to me! Because it explains a lot of the issues that we have with each other, ourselves, and God. We’re afraid to be fully naked in anyone’s presence, and that fear is literally costing us the closeness that we crave and that God designed us for. Shame, hiding, embarrassment, and feeling like we’re not good enough for His presence is the very thing that’s keeping us trapped in our messes. The leaves that Adam and Eve sewed together covered more than just their bodies; in my opinion, it was an attempt for them to hide themselves completely. And I can only imagine how sad that made God. The very friends that He’d created, created an entire world for, and walked with regularly had now covered themselves before Him. And yes, I said friends because though we’re His children, He also calls us friends, and we can talk more about that in Friends with God.

And before you tell me it’s not that deep, I disagree. It is that deep. My argument is that we don’t know how to get close to God, and we don’t know how to get close to ourselves. Yet we go on these sprees trying to get close to someone else. The issue is, you can only love others as you love yourself (Matthew 22:39). And loving yourself is learning to love God because He created you in His image.

Message

Nowadays, we wear clothing because if we didn’t we’d go to jail, but clothing also provides a layer of protection, modesty, and a barrier depending on our situation or circumstances. And THIS POST IS NOT ME ADVOCATING FOR YALL TO WALK AROUND NAKED, so don’t put that on me! What I am advocating, however, is that we learn (or relearn) to be naked in the presence of God and those close to us – use discernment.

Champion’s Corner

So let me tell you four reasons why you should get naked before God.

Action Item:

What would getting naked before God look like for you? Let’s chat about it below.