"Naked In Public"
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You're at the grocery store. Pushing your cart down the cereal aisle, you're trying to decide which option to choose. An older woman casually rounds the corner and immediately gasps in astonishment upon seeing you. You think it's strange, but carry on with your shopping. Standing in the produce section trying to remember the rules for choosing the right avocado, a young mother shouts in disgust and shields their child's eyes. What is going on? You look down and realize to your horror that you're naked! How did this happen? Where can you hide? Then, suddenly, you wake up. It was only a nightmare!
"And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account" (Heb. 4:13).
God sees us in all our nakedness and exposure. There's nothing we can hide from him. No passing thought, no secret sin, no hidden desire escapes his notice. While we might be terrified of being naked in public, should we also be afraid that God sees us this way? It depends on what we're trying to hide!
Dealing With Shame
As Adam and Eve unsuccessfully hid their nakedness from God in the garden after they disobeyed him (Gen. 4:7-11), we too might try to hide our sinfulness. Maybe we convince ourselves that he's not looking, or that he can't see. He'll overlook it or won't notice, right? We try to fashion our solutions to deal with sin, but in the end, we're just left wearing fig leaves. Not only are we incapable of hiding from the Lord, but we're ill-equipped to wipe away our guilt and shame by ourselves.
Fully Clothed In Christ
Christ is the only solution to the guilt and shame of our sin! We "put him on" in baptism, like you'd cover yourself in the morning before leaving the house. As Paul said, "for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Gal. 3:26–27). He suffered shame and bore our guilt on this earth to cover us eternally (Heb. 12:1-2). In fellowship with him, we're able to stand in God's sight without reservation.
Walking With Confidence
Integral to clothing ourselves with Christ is walking with him in the light. We take away the filthy garments of darkness and put on the armor of light. Our desires for sin have been replaced by righteousness when we put on Christ, as Paul said, "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires" (Rom. 13:14). Only then can we stand before our all-seeing God with confidence — through Christ!
