“[Mary of Bethany] lived out what she and all of humankind were created to crave: an unhindered, unashamed reach for God.”- Sara Hagerty
In Chapter 5 (“Uncovered: Becoming Vulnerable”) of Unseen, Sara Hagerty notes that when Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with expensive oil, she accomplished what few of us allow ourselves to do. As a result, Mary disregarded the approval and disapproval of those present. Therefore, she gave the most outwardly beautiful part of herself to Jesus. For Mary craved an unhindered, unashamed reach for God.
Furthermore, Sara observes, vulnerable experiences with God tend to stick with us. Yet, we seem to avoid that kind of vulnerability with God. We feel it’s unsafe to bare our souls due to prior vulnerable experiences with other flawed humans. Therefore, Ms. Hagerty notes, “we partake in the most elusive form of hiding: we hide from God.”
Thus, like Adam and Eve, we’re afraid because of our nakedness. Consequently, we hid ourselves from God in self-condemnation, anger, or simply waiting for the present moment to pass. As Sara encourages, God never intended us to hide from Him, to render parts of us untouchable to Him. Sara writes:
“These bare places at invitations. God invites us to exchange what feel raw and vulnerable for His strength. . . . It’s in those naked-place moments — the times we allow ourselves to be exposed before God — that He covers us with Himself, blankets us in His safe love, and replaces our exposed weakness with His strength. . . . He restores what feels like shards from the broken parts of our story and hides us in Himself, all so we can take the risk to unveil ourselves before Him again.”
Today’s question: What Bible verses help you crave an unhindered, unashamed reach for God? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Brokenness – the antidote to shame”
