He Covers Our Nakedness

He Covers Our Nakedness

There was once a day when there was no shame because there was no sin to be ashamed of. “The man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame” (Genesis 2:25).

But then came sin, and in came the shame. “She took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves” (Genesis 3:6-7).

Adam and Eve tried to perpetrate a literal cover-up. The shame of what they had done and who they had become was overwhelming. So they tried to close the gap between what they once had been and what they now were by covering up and presenting themselves in a new way. This was the origin of hypocrisy.

But sin is not a problem we can simply cover up by our own efforts. Neither is it a problem that can be solved by a bunch of leaves—but only by pain and blood. “Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22). God met Adam and Eve in mercy, providing robes made of the skins of animals to cover their nakedness. The God who made the world with a word could have made garments of cloth for Adam and Eve, but their clothes were made from the skins of animals. In this way he not only provided what they needed to make their way in a new world marked by sin, but he pointed to the day when he would solve the problem of their sin and shame decisively and permanently. He would do it with the blood of his own Son who, “because of the joy awaiting him . . . endured the cross, disregarding its shame” (Hebrews 12:2).

The clothing of Christ is available to all who come to him for it. But many are blind to their own nakedness and suppress their sense of shame. Jesus said to the church in Laodicea, “You don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. . . . Buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness” (Revelation 3:17-18). His offer extends to all who know the shame of sin and desire to be covered in the clothing of Christ himself.

Jesus, I am naked and ashamed, and there is nowhere to hide. I’m weary of my hypocrisy and my attempts to cover up. I need your sacrifice to cover my nakedness. I need your grace to take away my shame.