Is your faith naked?

God made Adam and Eve naked, but they chose to sin, hide, and make their own clothing. You and I, in fact, were born naked, and yet we are immediately clothed at birth.

Covering is ingrained in us. We are taught to dress our best for formal affairs. Surely, we must put on something nice to approach the throne of God!

Actually, the root of our distance is doubt and suspicion, running and hiding. Fancy clothes are just another form of that. No one wants to be exposed. It is far safer to cover ourselves.

But that is not what God did. He came and hung naked on a tree, fully exposed. There was nothing to hide before God, before a murderous human race.

That is why apostles, martyrs and reformers have fought for two thousand years for a raw and naked faith. Through the Spirit, we are reborn as infants. We have nothing. We hold nothing. We bring nothing.

Don’t dress up. We have nothing appropriate. Your clothes are not as fancy as you think. They are dirty, ugly, frayed, smelly, and rancid. We only think they are clean because we’ve never seen white garments before.

Behold the true purity of Christ on the cross.

What can you offer a God who saves through death on a cross? What could we bring that he has not already made? What could we offer that He has not first given us?

With our God, less is more. Or, perhaps I should say, nothing is everything.

We must come naked. God wants unhindered access to our hearts, which cannot be clothed by external apparel.

Surely people will stare and mock this illogical approach and our frail, bare figure. Remember, God made you naked. He saved you naked. We must come naked. He wants a child-like faith that has more regard for the wonder of his goodness than the vanity of self-appearance.   

He wants you, as you are.

Yes, letting God clothe you requires complete exposure. That is painful and offensive. Many do not come for fear of man or an unholy fear of the Father.

The good news is we do not stay naked. Our Father has something better in mind. He hugs us before he clothes us and showers us with royal garb, wedding clothes for a banquet feast.

If that sounds better, then take off your clothes, for you stand on holy ground.