Unconditional part 2
I just want to grab one piece of my main passage of Scripture for this Rant and really dig into it today. And it's the piece that says nakedness shall not separate us from the love of Christ. I think there's a big misconception here about nakedness. So let's start at the beginning. Way back in Genesis 2:25 we see, "And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed." Which I always thought was interesting. Because it seems like these days it seems like being naked IS something to be ashamed of. Like, it's funny when you're a little baby and you run around without a diaper on, but then it very quickly gets shameful and embarrassing. Why though? It's just our bodies. We're all just human. Well, move on down the story of Adam and Eve and you'll see that it wasn't until after they ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil that their nakedness became an issue. Genesis 3:7, "And the eyes of them both were opoened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons." This verse, by the way--along with the one about Jesus cursing the fig tree later on--is why I think it was a fig that they ate and not an apple. As soon as they ate from the wrong tree they tried to cover themselves. And what was at hand? Fig leaves. Now Genesis 3:10, "And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." Not only were Adam and Eve naked and ashamed... they were naked and afraid. But why though? God never had a problem with their nakedness. They were naked before they ate from the wrong tree and it didn't bother God. Basically God said, "You were naked yesterday. What's different about today?" Genesis 3:11, "And he said, Who told thee thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?" That's such an important question. "Who told you you were naked?" Who made you feel ashamed about who you are? Who put that thought in your head? God never had a problem with us being naked. He created us that way. It didn't matter to Him. But now watch this. This is so important. And so good. God runs through a whole list of consequences--NOT PUNISHMENT--that resulted from the man and woman not listening to Him. They ate from the tree of death... and the only thing that COULD come from that tree was death. But then, after all of that, He addresses their new problem. Not HIS problem. THEIR problem. Genesis 3:21, "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skin, and clothed them." And I can pretty much guarantee you that was Lamb skin. God clothed us... with Himself. Not because HE had a problem with our nakedness... but because WE had a problem with our nakedness. We CREATED a problem with our nakedness and God still loved us enough to fix that problem for us. Why? Because He loves us. And He didn't want us to be ashamed or afraid. Nakedness, to me, is about vulnerability more than anything else. It's about honesty. Nothing hidden, or covered. And that's nothing to be afraid of or ashamed of. That's how we build true relationships. Connection. It's not something that should separate us from each other, and it's certainly not something that separates us from God!