On Hiding

"We must lay before Him what is in us, not what ought to be in us."

~C.S. Lewis

There is this tendency in our insecure humanity to present what should be rather than what actually is; This tendency to give a presumably acceptable idea of ourselves to those whose approval we seek. There is this dangerously slick tendency in humankind to deny reality and believe these false impressions we've led others to believe. 

I submit that this nasty little habit can be traced all the way back to the Garden of Eden. (Yes, I'm a tad obsessed with the narrative of the Garden). Here are some excerpts from Genesis chapter three depicting this fallen inclination of ours:

"...And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings..."

"...And the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden...."

"...I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself..."

This need to cover and hide was not God's will. God's will was is communion with His creation (and if you don't know the good news about that, do email me and we can talk about it over coffee... or email). Feeling shameful in the presence of someone we love only prevents us from giving ourselves over to them fully. Which makes it impossible to become one with them. If we think about our own relationships, we know that when there are parts of ourselves we hide, we stunt and sometimes even sabotage the growth of union between ourselves and that person. You following?

hidden parts of ourselves + another person = no true union

Get it? Got it? Good. (feel free to comment if you disagree or would like to poke holes in this theory. It has the potential to be a meaty dialog). Moving on-

The Bible walks us through each of the fig leaves humanity has sought cover behind; Each provided by God for other purposes, each perverted by man for saving face. Finally and most powerfully, the pure and holy sacrifice of His Son provided the most effectual covering for our less-than-holy hearts. This solace is the only one that can actually morph us into the whole beings we were before sin entered our lives. Any false senses of security only deter human hearts from engaging with their Creator in the real life-transforming way for which a relationship with Him is intended. 

If I have learned one thing about prayer, it is to bare my honest heart, soul, mind, and tangible life before God. And believe it or not, rather than being appalled by my self-saturated offerings, He inhales it as though I were the aroma of Christ*. True union with Him is what transforms our hearts. And how can we genuinely commune with Him if we do not "lay before Him what is in us"? What "ought to be in us" is sort of what happens in the exhale, isn't it?

* 2 Corinthians 2