I Pretend Nothing With YouSýnishorn

Who told you? 

Have you ever felt totally exposed? My friend’s mom was traveling recently and went through security at the airport. She’s in her sixties and her body looks great for her age, but like all of us, she’s modest and has some areas she’d rather not reveal to the public at large. 

To travel that particular day, she had put on a little crop top tank top under a long buttoned blazer, along with tight skinny jeans that were snug on her tummy. The blazer served as her shirt and she had no intention of removing it at any point that day, especially during the security checkpoint. 

As she was going through the line, she removed her shoes and checked her carry-on. When it was her turn to go through the body scanner, the security guard asked her to remove her coat. She politely informed him that it was a blazer and was about to proceed forward, but he more firmly demanded that she remove the blazer as it was a rule that everyone had to remove their coats. 

She began to panic. Her crop top tank was snug and short, and the waistline of her skinny jeans was barely buttoned, leaving her stomach area completely exposed and spilling over her jeans. She pleaded with the guard that she couldn’t remove her jacket because she only had a short tank top on underneath it, but the guard wouldn't relent. Rules were rules, and again he demanded that she remove the blazer. 

Horrified, she removed the blazer and stood flat-footed in the body scanner with her arms in the air and her belly out for the world to see. She felt completely exposed! This guard was out of line if you ask me, but we all got a good laugh later as she explained her utter embarrassment. She felt like everyone at the airport saw what she was hiding under her blazer, and it was not a good feeling. 

This is another great picture of what Adam and Eve experienced in the Garden of Eden. Let’s continue examining their story. 

As we learned yesterday, before sin entered the world, there was no sin or shame. Adam and Eve shared perfect intimacy with the Lord God and with each other as man and wife. The Bible says that God created Adam and Eve in His own image. They were naked both physically and emotionally, but they felt no shame. 

When the serpent deceived them, things changed. They immediately became aware of their sin and the first thing they realized was that they were naked. They felt exposed, embarrassed, ashamed, and afraid. They immediately went to make coverings for themselves out of fig leaves. They tried to take away their own shame by making man-made coverings. 

The problem here is that we can never cover our own shame.  I love what God said to them once He found them hiding in the garden: “Who told you you were naked?” In other words, “Who exposed you? Who put shame on you? Who made you feel that you needed to hide and cover yourself?” Again, God was asking them questions to lead them to confession and help them understand their feelings of inadequacy. God never wanted this for them.

The answer to these questions is always Satan. His goals are to make us feel insecure and stop us from having a relationship with Jesus. He’s the “father of lies” and he wants us to hide and be afraid. Satan wants us attempt to cover ourselves in our own power instead of reaching true healing and freedom.  

When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, there were severe consequences. The world was cursed with sin and the fellowship they had enjoyed with God was severed. Sin entered the picture, and God in His holiness couldn’t coexist with it. This dilemma is referred to as “the fall.” 

As a result of the fall, every human from then on has been born with a sinful nature. We need saving, and however much we try, we simply can’t save ourselves. We can’t cover our shame before God. 

Adam and Eve were the first to try to cover their shame through works when they made the fig leaf coverings. We often try to earn our way to God by doing good deeds, volunteering, being a gracious person, giving to the poor, or going to church. I’m not saying we shouldn’t do all these things, but if we’re doing them to try to win over God, it won’t work. Works can’t save us. Only Jesus can. 

This is where we can get tripped up. We tend to think that if we can be good enough, God will accept us—or we believe the opposite, that we actually are good enough. But the truth is that none of us are good enough. We all fall short, and we all sin. It’s embedded in us. Only God can cover our shame. 

When the fig leaves weren’t doing the trick, God killed an animal and used the skin to cover Adam and Eve’s nakedness and shame. This is a foreshadowing of Christ’s sacrifice for us. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice, and He gave up His life on the cross to cover our sins and our shame.

Jesus covers us wholly and completely. In Him, we’re made pure and our sins are forgiven and paid for. Sin requires punishment, and He took the penalty for us. Jesus doesn’t leave us feeling shameful or having to make our own self-protective coverings. His blood completely covers us.  Because of what Jesus did for you, you can be spiritually “naked” or completely open with God. Sin no longer separates us from Him because God made a way to restore fellowship with mankind. Satan’s plans for destruction failed. 

Ask yourself today: Am I making my own coverings trying to work my way to God? Who told me that I need to hide and try to cover myself? Who’s putting shame on me? 

You can rest in knowing that God is not.