Have you ever been outside by a lake, camping, hiking, or wherever, and just sat back and looked at all the animals around you. Or watched a nature documentary of African or Polar wildlife and sit back in your easy chair and just let your mind ponder and consider the mysteries of life?
I do that more and more. And I do it deliberately.
Recently, my mind took me in an odd direction. I just started thinking about why we, as human beings, are the only creatures on earth that wear artificial clothing. It’s a question I’ve come back to again and again over many years after first hearing it raised by RC Sproul of Ligonier Ministries as afterthought to another topic.
(It’s funny, isn’t it, how some thoughts from years ago come back to mind again and again).
Anyway, I thought about the times when I just sat back in the mall and just shuddered at what some people wear. Seriously, why do kids these days wear jeans with tears and holes in them? And that they buy them that way! Fashion gone berserk if you ask me – but nobody’s asking and I digress…
Birds have feathers and wings to fly. Fish have scales and gills to live in the water. Polar bears have a thick fur coat covering a large amount of blubber to live in extreme cold. And so on. The common denominator is that all of the world’s creatures are naturally equipped to live where they are without artificial means and without artificial clothing.
All, that is, except human beings.
Other than times when fashion goes berserk, human beings are true masters at creating incredible articles of clothing, don’t you think?
Work clothes. School clothes. Party clothes. Fancy dress clothes. Exotic dinner wear. Meet with the bigwigs wear. Athletic clothes.
And then there are shoes, gloves, fashion jewelry and accessories. The list is almost endless.
And the amount of money spent on it can be staggering! Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the worldwide clothing industry was valued at 1.7 – 2.5 trillion dollars and if ranked alongside individual countries, would represent the 7th largest economy in the world.
(For more information on the statistics, click here).
And for what?
The simple answer staring each one of us right in the eyes is it’s all to serve a basic purpose of covering up our nakedness.
It’s still taboo and illegal to parade ourselves around in common places in the nude. It’s still illegal to engage in sexual activity in public.
Why?
Animals do it. They mate freely and without shame. No concern for moral taboos. It’s not illegal for them.
So why is it taboo and illegal for us?
I know there are social movements – such as the recent efforts at “free the nipple!”, the 60’s “free love”, etc. that try to get us to embrace our nakedness and be unashamed in public.
But I am ashamed of my nakedness in public. Not just because of my physical condition (or lack thereof). Not just because of a history of societal constraints. And not because of the reaction I would get from people around me – laughter, revulsion, whatever.
I’m ashamed of my nakedness in public for the basic reason of wanting others to see me better than I really am. To hide my true self from the world and put on a covering. To hide the real me. A façade.
And each one of us does that.
Again – why?
Actually, it’s a pretty simple reason, though – unfortunately – many will reject it out of hand. The foundational reason goes back all the way to the Garden of Eden. I encourage you to read the following passages in the bible … Genesis 2:4 -3:24.
In the beginning, we – human beings – were created naked and were without shame. We existed in an environment suited for us.
But we fell for the lie. We believed the lie – and still do – that we can and should be masters of our lives, having no Sovereign over us.
We sinned against our Creator and ran away from Him, and we hid from Him. We still do.
We clothed ourselves, sewing fig leaves together, to hide our shame. We still do – but today, we just use more ingenious means and materials than fig leaves.
But God saw us in our sinful condition – frightened, ashamed, and in hiding. He saw our clothing and decreed it wasn’t good enough. So He provided appropriate clothing for us instead.
Animal skins, not fig leaves.
Think about that: an animal had to be killed to provide those skins. An animal was sacrificed in order to provide the covering that is adequate in the sight of God. Blood was shed and so there was sacrificial death on our behalf. And we contributed absolutely nothing to it, except the need for it in the first place.
What a bold and graphic image that is, isn’t it?
God had said that the day we eat of the forbidden fruit, that day is the day we die. But instead of serving out divine justice, He exercised mercy instead.
An animal died instead of us. And its perfect garment of skin was given to us. I can’t think of a more graphic description of imputation than that. The animal was treated as the sinner, and the sinner was given gracious mercy.
It’s a picture of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The bible says categorically that our righteousness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Our good works are never good enough because they are always tainted with sin. In this picture, our efforts are nothing more than fig leaves, or modern clothing, and will never, ever be good enough to measure up to God’s standard of righteousness: perfection.
That’s why Christ came. To serve as both the scapegoat – the one to be treated as the sinner – and the perfect Lamb who provides us with perfect righteousness that does meet God’s standards.
The bible boldly declares Jesus lived a sinless life in the face of temptation (Hebrews 4:15). To provide His perfect righteousness to all of us who need it.
Our sin is given to Him as the divinely appointed scapegoat. And His righteousness is provided to us as the only available covering for our unrighteousness. Sin imputed to the sinless; righteousness imputed to the sinful. By faith alone - we contribute nothing to it.
Our best efforts may produce fantastic, gorgeous, and creative designs. But at best, they’re still fig leaves in God’s sight. Unfortunately, so many of us stay caught up in trying to make our fig leaves good enough, remaining blind to our real need.
The only adequate covering is something we don’t make, something we don’t produce, something we cannot possibly contribute to. It can only be received by faith.
My own righteousness – my fig leaf – will not do. I need the skins that God alone provides. The righteousness of Jesus Christ is my only hope.
I need it. You need it. Each one of needs it.
And it’s free…just ask Him for it!
That’s my prayer for you.
