The Fig Leaf Salesman

I have been thinking about someone... His name is Mr Realistic, he sells fig leaves for a living, and he doesn't want you to stop buying them.

In the name of Yeshua HaMashiach, who is come in the flesh, who hung bare on the cross and wore nothing but the sin of the world so that we could stand bare before the Father and wear nothing but his love, I rise and I speak.

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

That was the original design. Naked. Unashamed. Uncovered by anything except the presence of God. No system. No product. No safety net. No insurance. No precaution. No fig leaf. Just two people standing in the garden held by a God who was enough. And they needed nothing else because there was nothing else to need.

And then the serpent spoke. And they ate. And the first thing that happened was not death. It was covering.

And the eyes of them both were opened and they knew that they were naked and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons. (Genesis 3:7)

Fig leaves. The first product. The first covering. The first attempt by a human being to solve with their own hands a problem that only God could solve. They were naked and instead of running to God they ran to the nearest tree and started sewing. And the entire world system has been sewing ever since.

Every product the world sells is a fig leaf. Every insurance policy is a fig leaf. Every safety measure is a fig leaf. Every precaution is a fig leaf. Every backup plan is a fig leaf. Every "just in case" is a fig leaf. Every system built to protect you from the vulnerability of being human and alive and dependent on God is a leaf sewn from the same tree Adam stripped when he decided he could cover himself.

And Mr Realistic is the salesman.

The Salesman At The Door

He does not look like a serpent. He looks like common sense. He sounds like wisdom. He feels like maturity. He says "be sensible." He says "be prepared." He says "what if." He says "have you thought about." He says "you should probably." And every sentence he speaks is another fig leaf held out for you to buy.

In the name of Yeshua I come against the realistic worldly spirit. The spirit that makes the kingdom of God seem reckless. The spirit that makes trust seem irresponsible. The spirit that makes faith seem naive. The spirit that makes standing bare before God seem insane when it is the only sane position a human being can hold.

The spirit that grabs your arm at the doorway of the kingdom and says "are you sure?" The spirit that holds you in the threshold between two rooms so you can enter neither. The spirit that keeps one hand on your shoulder and one hand on a fig leaf catalogue and says "before you go in there, have you considered these options."

In the name of Yeshua I cancel every Mr Realistic in my life. Every voice internal and external that sells safety instead of faith. Every whisper that says "what if" instead of "God said." Every nag that says "check online just in case" instead of "check the word and rest." Every pressure to prepare for the worst instead of trusting the best. Every fig leaf salesman standing at the door of the kingdom with his arms full of products designed to keep me from walking through naked.

Take no thought for your life what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink nor yet for your body what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat and the body than raiment. (Matthew 6:25)

Take no thought. Not "take careful thought." Not "take responsible thought." Not "take thought but also buy insurance." No thought. Because the Father knows what you need before you ask. And the fig leaf salesman cannot sell you what the Father already provided.

Too Far Out

In the name of Yeshua I come against the constant realism that says "maybe that is too far out." Too far out for whom. Too far out for the system that never once produced peace. Too far out for the world that charges you to exist and then charges you again to feel safe while existing. Too far out for Mr Realistic whose entire career depends on you believing that God is not enough and you need a product to fill the gap.

The gap is a lie. There is no gap between you and God that a product fills. The only thing in the gap is the fig leaf salesman. And if he moved out of the doorway you would see that the kingdom is right there and the Father is right there and the provision is right there and the safety is right there and it was always right there and the only thing blocking your view was a man holding fig leaves.

Stay Safe

In the name of Yeshua I come against the lie that says "stay safe." Because safe in the world's language means "stay inside the system." Stay insured. Stay medicated. Stay employed. Stay compliant. Stay covered. Stay hidden behind your leaves. And whatever you do, do not stand bare before God because bare means vulnerable and vulnerable means unsafe and unsafe means something terrible will happen.

But nothing terrible happens when you stand bare before God. Something terrible happened when Adam covered himself. The covering was the fall. Not the nakedness. The nakedness was the design. The covering was the corruption. And every fig leaf purchased since that day has been a repetition of the original error — choosing a self-made covering over the presence of God.

The Inner Nag

In the name of Yeshua I come against the inner nag. The voice inside that says "what if this happens." "What if that goes wrong." "Maybe you should check online." "Maybe you should research the worst case." "Maybe you should prepare for every possible scenario so nothing catches you off guard." That voice is not preparation. That voice is fear wearing planning clothes. And the more you listen to it, the more scenarios it invents, and the more fig leaves it sells you, until your life is so full of just-in-case products that there is no room left for the kingdom.

Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature. (Matthew 6:27)

Not one cubit. All that thinking. All that worrying. All that preparing. All that checking. All that researching. All that planning for the worst. And it does not add one cubit. Not one inch. Not one moment of life. Not one degree of safety. The thinking produces nothing except more thinking. And the fig leaf salesman stands at the door smiling because every thought you think about safety is a thought you are not thinking about God.

The Infinite Loop

In the name of Yeshua I come against the constant selling. The system that never stops offering you something to protect you from something. You got the house insurance. But did you get the contents insurance. You got the contents insurance. But did you get the personal liability insurance. You got the health insurance. But did you get the critical illness cover. You got the critical illness cover. But did you get the income protection. Every product reveals the next gap. Every gap requires the next product. And the loop never closes because closing the loop would end the sale. And the sale is the point. Not your safety. The sale.

The fig leaf industry does not want you safe. It wants you buying. A safe customer is a lost customer. A customer at peace does not purchase. A customer who trusts God does not need the next product. So the industry keeps you permanently one gap away from safety so you keep purchasing and never arrive.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33)

All these things. Added. Not purchased. Not financed. Not subscribed to. Added. By a God who does not run a shop. The provision, the protection, the safety, the covering — all added as a consequence of seeking the kingdom. Not as a product bought from the system. The system charges. The kingdom adds. The system sells. The kingdom gives.

The Doorway

You cannot enter a new room if you keep standing in the doorway reaching for things in the room you are trying to leave. The doorway is not a position. It is the illusion of a position. You are neither in nor out. Neither covered by God nor covered by the system. Just stuck. Cold. Getting the draught from both sides.

Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

Heavy laden. That is a person carrying fig leaves. Arms full of products. Weighed down with safety measures. Exhausted from the carrying. And he says come. Put them down. Come. I will give you rest. Not sell you rest. Give it.

Shut the door. Drop the leaves. Walk in bare. He is already there. He has been waiting for you to stop shopping long enough to notice him.

As Little Children

Except ye be converted and become as little children ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3)

As little children. A child does not carry fig leaves. A child does not buy insurance. A child does not check online just in case. A child runs to the father with nothing in their hands and everything in their trust. And the father picks them up. And the child is held. And the child is safe. Not because the child covered themselves. Because the father is the covering.

Mr Realistic hates this. Mr Realistic cannot sell anything to a child who trusts the father. Mr Realistic needs you to be an adult. Needs you to be sensible. Needs you to be responsible. Needs you to carry your own weight. Needs you to plan and prepare and purchase and protect. Because a child in the arms of the father does not need Mr Realistic. And if nobody needs Mr Realistic, Mr Realistic is out of business.

Out Of Business

In the name of Yeshua I declare Mr Realistic out of business. His fig leaf shop is closed. His catalogue is burned. His doorway sales pitch is silenced. His arm is removed from my shoulder. His voice is removed from my head. His products are removed from my house. And every fig leaf I ever purchased from him is stripped off and thrown into the fire where it belongs.

And I stand bare. Before the Father. In the kingdom. With nothing in my hands except the fire he gave me. And he is enough.

He has always been enough.

It is done. The leaves are burned. The door is shut. The child is held.

In the mighty name of Yeshua HaMashiach. Amen.