Do you find yourself naked, hiding from God? Are you trying to cover your tracks and cover your shame and your game? Are you trying to hide from God? That’s the first question God asked Adam and Eve, because Adam and Eve were playing a game of hide-n-go-seek.
Genesis 3:9, God asks, “Where are you?”
He was saying, “Hey, Adam and Eve, you sinned. You’ve taken your eyes off me and put them on one another. Where are you?”
Look at Genesis 3:10, this is Adam. “I heard you in the Garden and I was afraid because I was naked.” Is that “naked” or “neckid”? Who says “neckid” here? If you’re from the dirty South, you say “neckid”. I say “naked”.
Now that’s pretty obvious. Adam realized that he was exposed, that he was naked, and he hid.
Look at Genesis 3:11. God asks him, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat?”
Adam and Eve learned something very quickly. What we cover, God will uncover; what we uncover, God will cover. Adam and Eve took their eyes off God, put them on one another after sin, they realized their nakedness, so they tried to become the first tailors who ever lived. They tried to sew together, the Bible says, a bunch of fig leaves to cover their nakedness.
Problem. There was a wardrobe malfunction. Problem. They couldn’t do it. So what did God do? God came in, killed an innocent animal, skinned it, and used the animal’s skins to cover them, to clothe them. This is the first instance we have of clothing ever mentioned in the Bible. So why do we have this desire for clothing?
Why do we wear clothing? Because of our nakedness, because of our sin. That is why we get dressed. I think another reason we like fashion and get dressed is because it’s a need that is expressed in buying clothes and colorful things to really be clothed in the robe or righteousness, the robe of Jesus.
So if you want to get down to the nuts and bolts of why we get dressed it’s because of sin. And from there one of the reasons I think we like fashion is either knowingly or unknowingly we want to be clothed in the robe of Jesus. When we are clothed in righteousness, that’s awesome. You may be into fashion and think about clothing, and you don’t realize that it’s really a mirror or a deeper need to be clothed in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Animals, though, don’t get dressed. You know people tell us that we’re animals. We’re not animals! God has told us that in the book of Genesis. We’re made in the image of God. Animals are animals. Animals don’t get dressed. It’s one of the things that separate human beings from animals. I’ve never seen a rhinoceros walk up to me in a three piece suit. I’ve never seen an elephant in pumps. I’ve never seen a tiger in a really cool pink tie.
We’re different than animals. We have a desire to get dressed. Why is that? It’s because of sin. And it’s also because we know down deep in our heart of hearts that we need to wear the perfect robe of our Lord.
So we’re trying to get dressed. And we want to have something that is perfectly tailored for us. Because the Scriptures tells us that the only way we get to heaven is if we’re dressed perfectly, if we are perfect. That’s the only way we get to heaven. And I’m getting to heaven because of that.
You may ask, “Are you saying that you’re perfect?”
No way. I’m a sinner. If you don’t believe me, ask my wife. All of us sin. I’m getting to heaven, though, and so are you if you’ve been clothed in Christ, because I’ve laid aside my sin and my unrighteousness and I’ve put on the righteousness of Jesus; I’ve put on the perfection of Jesus; I’ve put on the holiness of Jesus; I’ve put on the grace and mercy and forgiveness of Jesus.
So, when God sees me or God sees you, he says, “Whoa! There’s my son; there’s my daughter. They’re clothed in the righteousness of Christ.”
But what about you? Are you still trying to sew fig leaves together to cover your shame and your game? Are you still trying to do stuff your way? Are you wearing yourself? Who are you wearing? Because if you’re trying to hide from God, because sin always leads to fear and to exposure; if you’re trying to hide from him, you can’t.
It’s obvious. So it’s time that we admit the obvious to God and it’s time that we choose to get dressed, because there’s only one designer that works. And that is the Lord himself.
So what we cover, God will uncover; what we uncover, God will cover.
Now Romans 13:14 says, “Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ. And do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”
Clothe yourselves in the Lord Jesus Christ. How do we do that? It’s a top to bottom deal. He will clothe us from top to bottom, from bottom to top, from head to toe. He’ll totally envelope us and surround us with his love and grace. That is what is out there for you.
So think about this phenomenal wardrobe, this perfectly tailored outfit that is just for you. And the nail pierced hand of Jesus is giving you this outfit. You either receive it or you don’t. You either get dressed or you don’t.
And clothing, again, is just a mirror of a greater need. So whenever you get dressed, whenever you shop, whenever you walk around a mall or whatever, think about the human condition and think about the love and the grace of God.