Clothe the naked, part 1

"Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked..."  Gen3.7

If you want to get the attention of a room of middle school teens, just talk about nakedness.  The word garners giggles and blushes and averted eyes.

Adam and Eve however were hiding more than their eyes.  Ducking behind some bushes, they were hiding their guilty consciences when they heard the sound of God walking in the garden.  Having eaten from the forbidden fruit, they found themselves naked.....and we are not just talking about clothes here.

We are talking about the nakedness which is vulnerability, to be without protection, frail, weak.  For Adam and Eve it happened in that moment when they looked away from the God of promise ...for just a moment....and in a second the die was cast and the world had turned and there was no going back.  You know how that can be.....in a second a car runs a red light and you are crushed in your car; the job which seemed so secure disappears; the doctor's visit becomes a treatment plan with no guarantees.  In an instant.......the world turns and there is no going back.

You are left naked, and this world is no Garden of Eden.  It is dangerous and frightening and whatever stripped you of your protection has also stripped you of your confidence to face the winds and forces and responsibilities that come with this world.  There you are, sick or broken, in mind, or body or spirit.

Perhaps when we encounter the guilty naked ones hiding in the garden we could take a moment and remember that it only takes an instant.....and we are they.

Jesus says, "clothe the naked".