‘They were both naked…and were not ashamed.’ Genesis
2:25
Adam and Eve had no secrets from each other.
‘They were both naked…and were not ashamed.’ As a couple, God said they had
power to rule the world. And that’s when Satan entered the picture. What did he
attack? Their intimacy! ‘The eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew
that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves
coverings’ (Genesis 3:7 NKJV). The word intimacy means ‘to be open,
transparent, and trusting’. When Adam and Eve lost that, they started hiding
from God - and each other. And we’ve been hiding from each other ever since.
Emotional intimacy is the bedrock of any meaningful relationship. Without it,
relationships become shallow and unfulfilling. We are afraid of revealing to
others our fears, needs, insecurities, secrets, hopes, dreams, weird opinions,
or our undesirable parts. And this fear is rooted in the fear of loneliness:
‘If you really knew me, you’d leave me.’ Or the fear of inadequacy: ‘You may be
disappointed in me because I cannot fulfil all your expectations.’ Or the fear
of losing control: ‘Now that you know how I feel, you may use it to control
me.’ Women play ‘hard to get’, and men play the ‘tough guy’ who doesn’t need
anybody. What’s the answer? Learning to pray together. Our most honest moments
are before the God who already knows everything about us. When we share such
moments the barriers come down, our hearts tenderise towards one another, and
we move closer together. 
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