Naked?!
By Mike Rule

So often we look at situations in our lives and judge them as either bad or good, positive or negative. God continually presents the challenge to us to stop making judgments. He calls us to walk situationally and emotionally naked and unashamed. If we would eat from the Tree of Life we could be open and honest with others about our situations with NO shame! We only become ashamed of our nakedness when we eat from the tree of death by making judgments about what is good and bad about ourselves. This is simply inviting in chaos because we are constantly trying to hide our shame.

Those who are the most seriously afflicted by this seem to be people in ministry. I really feel badly for my brothers and sisters who seek to present a positive image of themselves, their marriages, and their families simply because they are in ministry. In the end we live to a high (but false) level of spirituality that is not our reality and we become obsessed by upholding it before men. The bottom line is we often worry more about what people think of us than what God does. We feel dead and empty on the inside, but we don’t dare tell anyone about it because we are so ashamed. We refuse to be vulnerable and naked before men, allowing them to see us as God does.

I praise God that the emptiness is a revelation that we are going in a way that is anti-Christ. It is proof positive that the Jesus who dwells in us desires for us to live in humility and truth. The next time the Spirit prompts you to be a little more honest and vulnerable, yield to Him. His peace and joy may surprise you.

"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28)