Unclothed

Hello Friend,
I’m the woman in the changing room next to you, trying not to cry. What is with those mirrors and lights?!! It’s a conspiracy, I’m sure. Every imperfection is magnified. Well, I’ll show them...I’ll change with my back to the mirror! What a difference a layer of clothes makes!
Speaking of clothes, remember the story “The Emperor’s New Clothes” by Hans Christian Andersen? It’s about a king who was fooled into believing he was wearing clothes when he wasn’t. He ended up prancing through town naked. Funny story. You couldn’t pay me enough to get me to walk around town like that. (I wonder how much it would take to…? Focus, Candace.)
It’s easy to see how ridiculous it would be for someone to be convinced to walk around naked and believe they were wearing clothes. But isn’t it just as ridiculous for someone who is fully clothed to go around acting like they are naked? (Seriously, take a moment and think about it. Better yet, I dare you to act that way tonight around your family. My husband is lucky he’s gone for a couple days. I would so do this to mess with him. Stop feeling bad for the man. He’s blessed, I tell you. Blessed.)
My question for you: Have you been convinced you’re naked?
We have an enemy who tells us we are naked, reminding us of our sin and then heaping condemnation on us. He wants us to feel exposed by holding up a twisted mirror, only revealing shameful things, things that God has chosen to remember no more (Hebrews 8:12). Like Adam and Eve in the garden after the fall (Genesis 3), we are overwhelmed with the filth of our sin, and we want to hide. It’s like when I stand in front of the changing room mirror: I see all my flaws, scars, imperfections, and shortcomings. I want to hide and turn away from my reflection.
As believers we walk around “naked” when we identify more with our sinful past than with the righteous reality we are fully clothed in through Christ. When we are operating out of our shame, we live a life of hiding, covering, fear, and defeat. We are more consumed with ourselves, our nakedness, and our protection than with those God has placed around us. It affects how we interact with God, also. We don’t enter into God’s presence with confidence, as a child does with a parent they know is pleased with them. Adam and Eve used to go walking with their Heavenly Father, but after they sinned they wanted to avoid Him.
Like Adam and Eve, my instinct when I’m feeling exposed, like in that dressing room, is to PUT SOME CLOTHES ON! I understand why they went to the nearest bush and tried to construct some sort of outfit. When my shortcomings are in front of me, when the enemy tells me I am naked, my inclination is to try harder, do more, be better, in turn, trying to cover my “bad” with “good.” Here’s the problem: my efforts are like me trying to dress myself in leaves. (Leaves are in short supply this time of year where I live.)
We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. Isaiah 64:6 ESV
Adam and Eve tried to make their own coverings, but their best efforts weren’t enough. Like them, our best efforts aren’t enough either. God stepped in and made them something better. God did the same for us through Jesus.
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Isaiah 61:10 ESV
When we put our faith in Christ, His righteousness and salvation are placed on us. We are now covered in something greater than anything our best efforts could provide. We should still do good things, but not as a payment for our sin. Our good deeds are the fruit and expression of our new identity in Christ, not the reason for it.
