The Best Way to Flee Naked

I love God’s word.  All of it.  Some of it, I will indeed be asking Him directly about one day for the full revelation but for now, while I’m sporting my patented Glasses Darkly,  I only get a little glimpse.

Today I was reading this unique chunk of spiritual revelation.  It occurred seconds after Jesus was betrayed by Judas and arrested by a big throng of meat heads (or whatever term you choose to label them with):

And they all forsook him, and fled. And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about [his] naked [body]; and the young men laid hold on him: And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked. (Mark 14:50-52)

I can  really visualize this scene. It’s very vivid.  All these ‘disciples’ who said ‘I would die before leaving you, Jesus!” run away at the first realization that things might get tricky for them and their Freedom 55 plan reduced in value.  But this one chap (name withheld obviously for privacy and security reasons), not only runs, but runs away naked.

Now that’s some serious fear (with a side order of shame).

This dude operated out of pure fear and even chose the shame of nakedness to make sure he left Jesus in the dust sparing his own life.

And so I sat there and meditated on the Word of God…

…Isn’t it cool how this is the Word of God and you are encouraged to meditate on it??

Then, suddenly, it came to me!  This dude wasn’t the only dude in the Bible to flee someone naked – Joseph did way back in Genesis:

And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what [is] with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; [There is] none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou [art] his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, [or] to be with her. And it came to pass about this time, that [Joseph] went into the house to do his business; and [there was] none of the men of the house there within. And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out. (Genesis 39: 7-12)

Do you see the spiritual revelation?  There are two ways you can flee naked:

1. in fear
2. in faith

Joseph chose the best way.  He fled naked in earthly shame, but in reverence of God and God’s righteousness and God turned his naked shame into unspeakable earthly glory (quite a while later and after some nasty ol’ time in prison).  The great news for the scared naked disciple who left Jesus in the dust is that God is super graceful and gracious.  Jesus died so that this guy never has to run away in fear again – whether naked or fully clothed.

Fear is defeated on the cross.

How will you run away naked today?