A freedom like no other

For if you offered him thousands of rams and ten thousands of rivers of olive oil—would that please him? Would he be satisfied? If you sacrificed your oldest child, would that make him glad? Then would he forgive your sins? Of course not! No, he has told you what he wants, and this is all it is: to be fair, just, merciful, and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:7-8 TLB)
I have often said we complicate this walk with Jesus way too much by adding a weight upon our shoulders of all kinds of "things" we imagine God must want us to do or bring or give. We get so bogged down under the burden of trying to meet whatever "demands" we believe God has of us that we miss totally it is just "us" he really craves! He wants time with us. He desires communion with our heart. He yearns to hear us tell him what is going on in our minds and hearts, and to allow him to unburden both!
We imagine huge offerings are needed - he already provided the "ONE" offering that accomplished it all. We create elaborate ways to worship him - he simply desires a complete honesty of heart and mind. We presume we need some type of "covering" for our sinfulness - he simply desires our nakedness. The desire of his heart is for us to walk humbly "with" him. It isn't that we "mask over" our weakness and need. It isn't that we create some elaborate way to make ourselves "presentable" to him. Sometimes the most vulnerable times are the hardest for us, but they are also the most rewarding.
Nakedness is feared by many - because it prevents disguise. When we are naked, all our flaws can no longer be hidden. This makes a good many uncomfortable. I think this is why we design such elaborate ways to come before God - because we are not comfortable with him really seeing all those flaws! The sad truth is that he doesn't see any flaw he hasn't already fallen deeply in love with, so attempting to hide what he already loves so tremendously is kind of silly!
There is an approach to God that is "uncomplicated" and free of all the encumbrances we so often see in "religion". It is the desire of God's heart that each of our hearts embrace this "uncomplicated" approach into his presence. It means we truly become comfortable being "naked" with God - humbly acknowledging we aren't perfect, that he doesn't demand our perfection, and that he has an intense love for us as completely "imperfect" people. If we'd get comfortable being "imperfect" before God, we might be surprised at how many ways we experience his perfection in our lives! 
It isn't that we walk humbly in and out of his presence. It is that we learn to walk humbly with his presence. This is different than how many of us walk with God, for we make the walk about the moments rather than about the lifestyle. God enjoys the moments of true nakedness of heart and mind as much as we come to, but he is most concerned for us to experience the lifestyle of open and honest nakedness - therein we find the true "freedom of soul" that causes our spirit to soar. Just sayin!

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