Bet I’ve caught a few of you off guard with this title!
Lots of people dress in layers such as football players and skiers. I’ve often wondered of ladies in movies or in real life that wear the huge saucer-like hats or bonnets. Some, to church, others, simply to go out. After seeing someone with a huge hat for a long time, it’s probably hard to recognize them without one. Those ladies with bonnets tilted right over their eyes and to the side of their heads, I wonder what they’re like without them. Same thing with shoulder-padded guys. Remove the pads and, where did he go? I remember back in high school we had a ‘Mr. Popular.’ He was followed everywhere with two-to-three girls tagging along on each side. They were all always laughing and practically drooling over him. It happens that one day I rode my bike near a public pool when I noticed a wet-noodle of a guy! No shoulder pad jackets, no gallon of hair gel, and no girls by his side! It was, hard to believe, but it was ‘Mr. Popular’ himself! Gone were the high-heeled shoes popular of the 70’s. Gone, were the fancy attires and all the girls. He would not be picked out in a line-up!
And so, I’ve thought of how we can hide behind items such as helmets, dark glasses, dark shades, even attires that ‘make’ us who we are. People always see the image they expect to see or the ones we want them to see. Both male & female strippers can strip outer garments to reveal flesh; mush like paint strippers tear at layers to reveal beautiful wood. God’s Word strips inner layers to reveal the fallen man; the one that, regardless of his good deeds, can never attain God’s favor by his own works or deeds (Isaiah 64:6). The Holy Spirit gets deep into the fibers of our spirt-man; the man no one wants others to see. God is the ultimate stripping agent. He cuts to the chase. He’s not in the least impressed with any of us in terms of how we present ourselves whether we wear gold, silver, plastic, or expensive jewelry. Those outer garments and accessories are personal touches which oftentimes might be to impress others, but not God. He’s interested in how our spirit fairs. His concern is to strip us down to the bare essentials, spiritually. He can fashion us for His purposes; for His glory. We must come to terms with our depravity.
Ready to be stripped? Trust me, you won’t be smiling and/or trying to impress anyone. It’ll be you and God alone. And it can take a very long time depending on the number of layers you wear: pride, arrogance, thievery, good works, deception, lies, vengeance, goody-two-shoes, self-righteousness, vindictiveness, etc. etc. As he strips away layers, a beautiful sheen begins to emerge in you until, like cared-after exotic wood, true grain appears revealing beauty that lies beyond the surface. Beauty that shines forth after being stripped by The Stripper; and displayed by The Carpenter.