Who Told You?
God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Genesis 3:11a (NRSV)
“Who told you that you were naked?
“Who said to you that you needed to be anything but naked and unashamed? Who told you that you were anything but what God made you to be? Who has called you out your name? What forces would like you to turn your back on me?”
Let me say this to you: the production and mechanisms of evil at play all around us tell you you’re naked. Why?
To turn you from God, to send you into hiding, to hate yourself and your situation, to keep you away from gratitude and a love of yourself and a love of your neighbor that is radically and beautifully inclusive.
The ones who are telling you that you are naked seek to disrupt you from the beautiful, magnificent purpose and calling God has molded into your very being, like a potter crafting the finest clay.
Who has told you you are not the very finest of clay, molded perfectly by Adonai Godself? Why? And how do you identify them? Look to anyone who wants you to be ashamed of the person God made you to be. Look to anyone who hates who you are and wants to change you into their vision of perfection.
Then – with the help of the God who made you – resist them.
Prayer
God, let me look upon who and what you have made and see your magnificence. Amen.
About the AuthorKaji Douša is the Senior Pastor of The Park Avenue Christian Church, a congregation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ, in New York City.