Many parents at one time or another have had a child take off their clothes in public. Usually this results in a moment of embarrassment , then a scramble to restore decency. We may chuckle at these moments in hindsight, but when you are still in the moment it is not so fun.
For me this moment came when I took my son with me to get take-out from the local Taco Bell. While we were waiting for our order, my son decided to pull his pants and underwear down around his ankles. I was at first turned away from him and did not see what he was doing. When I turned around, there was my 7-year old, exposed to the world, or at least the several patrons in the dining area. He thought it was delightfully funny. I was beet-red in the face.
As adults, we may not realize that we often do this ourselves. While we are not literally declothing ourselves at Taco Bell, we often declothe ourselves spiritually when we forget to wear our garments of faith. When we are lacking in faith, we expose ourselves to the elements of temptation. We start taking the control of our lives away from the Lord. This can lead us into sin, shame, then a scramble to restore decency. Remember Abraham when he was still known as Abram? When he traveled to Egypt in Genesis chapter 13, he lied to Pharaoh about Sarai being his wife. He was afraid that if the Pharaoh discovered Sarai was married to Abram, that he would have him killed. Rather than have faith in God to protect him, Abram told Pharaoh that Sarai was his sister and let him take her as his wife. As a result, the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household. While Pharaoh let Sarai go, there is no telling what ramifications this event had on Abram's marriage to Sarai. Luckily, the Lord is watching out for us even when we make mistakes. Abram made many mistakes in his life, but the Lord still kept his promises to him.
Are there areas in your life that are not clothed by faith? Is there a decision that you are currently struggling over? Pray that God will grant you guidance in your decision and courage to have faith in His leading.
"You are all sons of god through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." - Galatians 3:27
No comments:
Post a Comment