“And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed” (Genesis 2:25, NKJV).

When you come to God seeking forgiveness and new life, what you are seeking is to return to this existence that we see in Genesis, being before God naked and unashamed. You leave everything at the cross. Our past, present, future—it’s all given to Him to strip away and create something new.

The old is to pass away so the new can come. You leave it all at the cross and stand before God as birthday-suit you. You come to God with nothing to offer. You give up to God and let Him strip away anything you might think you have to offer.

Good works? Filthy rags. You strip away your identities, labels, money, degrees, relationships, plans for the future, all that happened in the past. It’s all left at the foot of the cross. Job says, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return” (Job 1:21).

When we’re truly born again, we’re naked. And we’re unashamed. It’s a blank canvas for God to work His masterpiece.