Naked we came, Naked we will be (part 1)

• God creates man and woman.
• Genesis 2:25- And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
• The man and woman eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
• Genesis 3:7- Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
• God asks where they are.
• Genesis 3:10- And he said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself."

When God created Adam and Eve, they are described as being naked AND not ashamed.  After they sin, they became self-aware, ashamed, and afraid.  We were created without shame and without fear, and so enthralled with God and His perfect creation that we weren't even aware that we are naked, completely exposed.  That is HUGE, to me anyway.  I struggle deeply with shame, so much so that it has only been recently that I have been able to recognize it as shame- up until this year I was sure that I didn't have shame because that would mean I wasn't actually as bad as I felt like I was, and I was sure that I was in fact as bad as I thought I was.  So hearing the truth that we were not created with shame, that shame is the result of lies... this is sweet news.  Last winter someone told me that suicide is a completely irrational thought.  To be honest, I have no idea how it is irrational, but for 9 months I have been trusting that simple statement and reminding myself of it over and over again.  So the last couple days I have been trying to do likewise with shame- I don't understand how I shouldn't be ashamed, but I'm going to trust that shame stems from lies and the truth is that I am actually absolutely loved- with no conditions- by God.


Yes, we live in the period where clothing is necessary.  Sin is a part of me and everyone around me and all over the world.  I'm not saying that I, or anyone else, lives a life good enough to never feel the weight of my own and others' sin.  Paul explains the difference between godly grief and worldly grief (what I tend to understand as the difference between guilt and shame) in 2 Corinthians 7:10- For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.  I need to experience guilt, godly grief, so that I know to repent.  I need not experience shame, worldly grief, because There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)


... to be continued...