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The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. Genesis 3:21
There are plenty of studies out there about how clothing affects the person. When we are feeling good about ourselves we generally dress accordingly. Doctors and medical professionals wear white because it garners respect from people. People in a suit and tie are usually considered successful regardless of their financial status. People in dirty or old clothes are generally considered poor or people of ill repute.
One day, Adam and Eve walked alone and naked in the garden. They were unashamed of their looks, unashamed and open about their feelings. They accepted each other completely and were totally transparent with one another. Scripture even suggests that they understood each other fully.
Then sin came into the picture and with that sin, came shame. Genesis tells us that when sin entered the picture it changed how the couple looked at each other, themselves and God. They looked at each other’s nakedness and felt shame and embarrassment. They heard God and felt fear. Remember, these were new feelings for the first couple. Shame, embarrassment and fear had never been a part of their emotional make-up to this point.
Genesis 3:21 is a beautiful story of grace. Grace because an innocent animal gave its life. Grace because neither the man nor the woman deserved God’s forgiveness. Grace because the creator himself not only made them their clothes, he clothed them.
The clothing God made for the man and woman covered far more that their physical nakedness, God’s clothing covered their emotional nakedness by covering their shame, guilt and embarrassment.
The fig leaves Adam and Eve covered themselves with were inadequate to cover the real issues in their lives. Nothing has changed today. We spend thousands of dollars every year to hide our shame and our guilt. We use clothes, new jobs, new relationships, new hairstyles, religion and all sorts of other things to try to cover up how we feel about ourselves but nothing works. Physical coverings will never cure the inner pain we feel.
Our creator God personally clothed Adam and Eve with animal skins as a symbol of a new set of clothing he offered through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only one that will cover your guilt. Jesus is the only one who will cover your anger and your hurt. Jesus is the only one who can cover the scars of your past.
The real beauty of God’s clothing is that when you are clothed with Jesus Christ you are able to be fully free to be you. No more hiding. No more disguises. Simply free to be you! With Jesus your outfit is you and you are beautiful!
Test me, Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; Psalm 26:2 (NIV)
When we aren’t feeling right the proper thing to do may be to go to the doctor. We sit in the exam room and he checks our ‘vitals’ and may do a surface examination, checking our posture, ears, nose, throat, reflexes and the like. We’ll be asked about symptoms and changes in energy and bodily functions.
If no problem is detected the doctor will order tests, like blood work or perhaps an x-ray or CT scan. Until the problem is discovered a good doctor will, in a sense peel away at surface issues until he gets to the root of the problem. Until he can do that, a solution can’t be found and treatment won’t be able to happen.
Once the issue is diagnosed a treatment will be prescribed which will solve whatever our problem is. If you want to feel better, you will follow the doctor’s advice, take your medication and allow your body to heal.
What’s true in the physical realm is also true in the realm of our emotional and spiritual health. Sometimes when people are feeling poorly physically they will try to ‘heal’ themselves by asking friends what they think, or going onto the internet. Sometimes this can lead to deeper more serious problems or simply treat the symptoms without getting to the real cause. The best thing to do when you are feeling physically sick is to go to the doctor because the doctor is trained to know where and how to look for the problem.
When you are struggling emotionally or spiritually the best place to go is to your Heavenly Father. Unlike the doctor who makes an educated guess about your condition, your Heavenly Father made you. He knows everything about you. He watched your hands, your feet, and your personality form while you were still in the womb. He knows every fear you’ve ever had, every mistake you’ve ever made, every thought, word or deed you’ve ever done. He knows the things everyone sees on the outside, but he also sees the most secret, intimate, hidden things in your soul.
The Psalmist asks God to examine him. He uses three words to describe that examination: ‘Test me, try me, examine me’. Those three words describe an intense, thorough examination deep inside your soul. Those kinds of examinations are scary whether they be physical or spiritual/emotional because they may reveal some things we don’t want to know about ourselves. But in order to be healthy we need to look into every part of our lives and deal with the issues we find. Otherwise we are only treating symptoms. When God examines us it may be painful, like purifying gold needs intense heat, so our lives must go through some fire to purify and heal our inner wounds.
The good news is we don’t need to fear what God finds and what he shows us about ourselves. God doesn’t examine us to find fault, he examines us to find areas where we can grow stronger. He doesn’t show us our faults to shame us, he shows them to us so we know what to work on to be better. Don’t be afraid to do some self examination of your heart. Ask the maker to look deep within your soul and reveal areas that he can help change to make you better. It’s the best medicine you’ll ever take.
PRAYER: Father, I’m afraid to look at myself too deeply. But I know I must in order to be healthy. Like the psalmist, I ask that you would go with me as I travel deep inside myself. Show me where I need to change and empower me with your Holy Spirit to make those changes. I’m done treating symptoms; I want to be spiritually and emotionally healthy. Amen.
Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Romans 12:10 (NIV)
In 1683 William Penn made a treaty with the Indians in North America, and purchased from them a large woody tract, which, after its own nature and his name, he calledPennsylvania. Penn built a city in this tract of land which was populated by people of his own denomination, and called the cityPhiladelphia.
Regardless of what has transpired since then, Penn’s desire was to build a city of like minded people who were devoted to one another; that would be kindly affectioned to another with brotherly love.
The phrase ‘be devoted to one another’ in Romans 12:10 is best translated with that word-Philadelphia. Actually the original Greek wording in Romans is only used in that one spot. It’s best translated as the kind of love a parent might have for a child, or a brother might have for another brother. It’s a family kind of love. What Paul it telling us is that we are all part of one family and we should live as such.
The family has been the foundation of society since time began. This fact didn’t take away from the reality that differences arose as a result of personal preferences and personality traits. But the one defining characteristic that made families work was a devotion to one another regardless of those differences. We don’t agree, we may even quarrel, but you can’t change the DNA.
What’s true in the physical sense is true in the spiritual sense. Those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as personal Savior and live in his forgiveness and grace are family. Jesus gives each of us the same spiritual DNA so that we will live in harmony with one another. Each of us brings our own likes and dislikes regarding worship and music. Each of us brings our own opinions based on our backgrounds and traditions. Each of us brings a load of baggage from our past.
Regardless of what we bring into the family, we are admonished to live in devotion to one another by honoring others above ourselves. The New Century Version translates the verse like this: Love each other like brothers and sisters. Give each other more honor than you want for yourselves. That means we are not only to treat each other well, we are to treat each other better than we want to be treated.
So many times I hear people say they have quit going to church because of all the fighting between church members and denominations. What a difference it would make if William Penn’s dream of a place where everyone was of like mind and devotion was realized in the body of Christ.
PRAYER: Father, show me today if I harbor any feelings of discord towards a brother or sister in Christ or in a denominational body that believes differently than I do. Help me to live with the devotion my spiritual DNA calls me to so that your church can be united. Amen.Cross references:
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 