The Miracles of Being a Nudist

I’m a nudist around my wife, but that’s about it.

Further, I doubt my congregations would let me into the pulpit apart from being “a man of the cloth”, though at least one Old Testament prophet did prophecy in the nude. He did it to portray in graphic form the fact that the people would be led naked into captivity for their sins, as I recall. Isaiah, I believe, it was.

It is true God originally made human’s naked, and due to sin, they became ashamed of themselves before Him, each other, and even of their own bodies. It is likewise true that God Himself was the one who came up with the idea of wearing clothes in public once that had occured. Fig leafs weren’t suitable for this, so He gave them animal skins–presumably from the first animal sacrifices, which would point forward to one who would come as the Seed of the Woman to die as the great Lamb of God for the wrongs of us all. I figure God knew what He was doing when He made us naked. Also, that He knew what he was doing when He dressed us a little later on.

Once I happened by mistake into the middle of an impromptu nudist colony at a place called Palm Hot Springs to the northwest of Death Valley. We went in there one Christmas vacation, my friend Mark and myself, seeking a place to stay warm. We’d frozen ourselves camping in the winter a few evenings before, and been directed to the local hot spring in Kern River Canyon to get warmed up by the local ranger. So when we spotted the hot spring coming up out of Death Valley 50 miles off the pavement to the right on the map, we thought we’d go for it.

We lost one tire going in, and I woke up the next morning to find another tire had gone flat during the night. It was 50 miles back to pavement, and another 60 to the nearest filling station. So it was plain I would have to make friends with the locals. I took my towel and trunks and wandered on down to the hot springs past the “Bare Crossing” sign, only to discover I had come dressed, and everyone else was naked! Got to say, that was my worst ever fashion flop, and one I wasn’t in a frame of mind to correct in the foreseeable future. I’d gone naked in community showers in the dorms of schools I attended for 8 years. But that was different. We were all guys. This was men and women all indescriminately steaming in the middle of the great dry desert san clothing.

They greeted me warmly, and invited me in. I made an excuse, turned on my heel, walked back to my crippled van, and woke up my friend, Mark. “This is a nudist colony,” I informed him. “I’m having trouble dealing with my prejudices toward people who choose not to wear clothes in public.” He said, “Maybe that’s why God sent you here.” He went in without trunks. I wore mine. The local skyclad folks gave me a pass when I told them I was a preacher. They told me about nudist colonies where you weren’t allowed in unless you stripped.

They told of the old ladies who had said, “Ah, ah, ah! Don’t let that girl come out here in a bikini!” when a beautiful 18 year old emerged from her family’s camper at one more judgmental spot for exposing flesh corperately. They were more open minded about non-conformists, like myself. Made me laugh, thinking of the little old ladies in some of my congregations who would be doing the “Ah, ah, ah! Don’t let that girl come into church in that miniskirt!” Seems every place has its own “God’s Policemen” sorts to keep the others in line.

A guy in nothing more than a jacket and tennis shoes helped us get our tire fixed. If he hadn’t, we’d have never gotten out of there. And today, doubtlessly all my congregation would be arriving for services there in the shadow of the desert palms in the buff. So you’d fit right in.

Remember that under our clothes, we are all naked. There’s nothing we can hide from God, so that nakedness is a whole lot deeper than mere clothing. So put on some clothes and go back to church, friend. You can pray to God at home, but praying with others works best in church. While there are a few who worship in the buff, you’ll have to look a long way to find them…