6 Words That Will Change Your LifeSample

There’s something about being naked that makes me blush. Even the word kind of makes me blush.  

One hot summer’s day in 1980, I went to the movie theatre with my friend. I was fifteen years old, and in that awkward stage of life where I was extra self-conscious.  

As we stood outside the theatre looking at the movie posters, I noticed a long line of high school-aged girls getting tickets. So I flexed my puny arms and tried to show them a little tricep as I pointed to our various movie options.  

Problem was, my friend, Art, who was a prankster at heart, was standing right behind me. I was wearing shorts, and in one swift motion, Art pulled my shorts completely down to the ground and I was standing there exposed. 

Instead of pulling my shorts back up, I tried to run…which turned out even worse for me and for everyone watching. 

Why do we giggle when we hear the words “nudist beach”? Why do we cringe at the thought of losing our swimsuit on a water slide?  

It all goes back to the Garden of Eden. 

Before the Fall of humanity, Adam and Eve were naked and loving it. They had nothing to hide, literally or figuratively. They looked at themselves as magnificent creations of an even more magnificent God.  

Adam loved Eve. Eve Loved Adam. Both of them loved God. 

This pure and utter transparency was God’s original intent for all of humanity. They experienced pure, unfiltered conversation from the deepest chamber of each other’s hearts and minds. 

I think we all long for this deepest level of honesty and openness with God and each other.  

In our best moments, we go naked before God, refusing to hide behind religion or excuses, letting down our defenses.  

But it’s just a taste…for now. 

Someday, Jesus will make all things new, and we’ll be back to that pre-Fall level of authenticity and transparency with God and each other.  

How do we begin to live like this now? We live in a daily declaration of dependence on the Holy Spirit. We take off the fleshly attitudes that we hide behind and put on new ones.  

We strip off the clothes of our old self and put on the new wardrobe of who we are in Christ. It’s then, and only then, we can be the right kind of naked. 

Are you authentic and open with others? Or are you playing a role to impress? Prayerfully spend some time considering whether you’ve consciously or unconsciously dressed up your real self to give others the impression that you’re something other than what you really are.