Naked and Exposed, but not Afraid

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable. (Hebrews 4:13)

How does God see us? The image of being 'naked and exposed' before God kind of says it all, doesn't it? We cannot 'hide' our true identity, motives, attitudes, or thoughts from him. If that is the case, then it is high time we start to look at ourselves as God sees us - knowing everything we are and do, good or bad. When we start to see ourselves through God's eyes, we see areas within ourselves that need to change, and we also see those areas where he has been at work, changing us from the inside out. Pride might keep us from seeing ourselves as we really are, but when we get past that prideful attitude about ourselves, we find ourselves standing before God, naked and exposed, but no longer ashamed of who we are because we know he is at work.

God is the creator of all things - you and I would not exist without his action of creation. I have often come across individuals who just don't like themselves, complaining all the time that God 'created' them with something that is 'too big', 'too small', 'too ugly', or 'too something'. They refuse to see the unique beauty of what God has created. When we are down on ourselves, it is easy to get critical of what God is doing within our lives. We don't think he is moving fast enough. We are critical of the 'material' he is using to create something afresh within us. We complain about the 'method' he is using to show us what we are in him and what he desires to do with and for us. 

Remembering that our 'starting spot' is always that of a sinner, given to following one's own will, living apart from God's grace, we might do well to see just how far we have come from that 'starting spot' since God's grace entered into our lives. We may not be perfect yet, nor are we always consistent in our walk with Jesus, but we are not the same as we were! If we keep that in mind as we come into each new day, we might just see what some label as 'progress' in our walk with Jesus. God might just see us quite differently than we see ourselves - because he is able to be honest in areas where we are not quite able to be very honest with ourselves yet. We need to trust him to expose what needs exposure, touching those areas we have neatly hidden away from public view. 

As he touches our lives each day, we come away just a bit different than we were when we entered that day. It may not seem like we are, but it is impossible for the creator to leave us mired in sin's guilt and debris. He will help us rid ourselves of all that hinders our walk with him and embrace all that helps us live as transformed creatures. Just sayin!