Naked

Job understood, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart” (Job 1:21a).  Paul reminded Timothy of this very thing.  “For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it” (1 Tim. 6:7).

As new-born babies, we enter the world with nothing and we are totally dependent on others to provide our needs.  We exit the world naked as well.  We cannot take anything with us when we leave.  The saying “he who dies with the most toys still dies” is a well-known saying.  We cannot take our worldly goods with us.  They are merely temporary, not eternal.  This fact should help us focus on what is heavenly rather than what is confined to this earth.

Yet it is also true that we cannot take our accomplishments with us.  When you and I stand before the judgement seat of Christ we will stand naked.  Nothing which we have done outside of Christ will count for anything.  You and I should not imagine that we have any righteousness to bring before God.  We have nothing to bring.  “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away” (Isa. 64:6).  The good news is that Jesus covers his people with his blood (Rev 1:5) and his righteousness (2 Cor 5:21) and his glory (Col 3:4).  Only because of Christ will anyone be able to stand on that Final Day.

But if we cannot take any accomplishment with us then what reason do we have for doing anything good at all?  Jesus told a story about some unemployed men who were employed in a vineyard.  Those who worked all day were given the same wage as those who worked on hour (Matt 20:1-16).  The wage is salvation and is it not a reward for working hard as such, but a reward of grace.  The joy comes from being employed by the owner of the vineyard.  Whatever we do in Christ is not in order to be saved, but because we are given the privilege of sharing in his work.  Every good thing we are granted to participate in is wrapped up Christ.

We enter the world naked and leave naked.  We enter dependent and exit dependent.  Nothing can cover that nakedness but Jesus and he fully covers it.  We can either depend on the covering of Christ or discover to our shame that we have nothing to hide our nakedness (Rev 3:18).

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