Just One Word: Skin

Skin

Lora Parsons

The Ashland Beacon

At some point, if you’re bored, try Googling “the unspoken rules of texting.” You might get a glimpse into just how long a list of guilty behaviors you’ve racked up if you’re a texter. There are rules for the timing of replies, the length of replies, the number of emojis used (one I’m guilty of), and when and how to use abbreviations. If you communicate frequently by text, you likely have at least a mental list of pet peeves regarding the responses you receive. One of my least favorite responses to get is “K.” I fully understand that it isn’t always sent with a hidden message, but I still can’t help but question whether that’s really an appropriate response to whatever I’ve just sent. There are so many other options that don’t carry any hidden meaning. The two letters “O” and “K” are so much better in my book than just the single “K.” Spelling out the word is a step above that— “Okay.” And there are so many other options that are even better than the actual word— “Okay, perfect” or “OK, I’ll see you then!” Anything besides just “K.”

Thinking about that letter struck me in a much different way not too long ago at church. The idea of the Sabbath was a really important concept in Jewish law. Following God’s creation work that lasted six days, He rested. The Sabbath, as a result, became a day set aside, according to Jewish tradition, for focusing on God. To be sure the letter of the law was followed, many specific examples were given regarding what one could or couldn’t do on the Sabbath. We have the benefit of looking backward in time and seeing how Jesus fulfilled all of the laws of the Jewish tradition. The phrase “fulfill the law” is one that is commonly used to describe Jesus’ life. Phrases like that, which we often use without much intentional thought, tend to give me pause.

Flipping it around, we might think of the phrase in terms of “fill it full.” What did Jesus fill it full of? And likewise, in serving Him, what should we fill the law full of? Are we to be certain that we still keep every law from the Jewish tradition? Is it our duty to ensure that other Christians are living according to the letter of the law?

When Jesus stepped out of Heaven and “donned the skin of humanity” (a phrase I heard many years ago that still wrecks me), He filled the law full of His grace, mercy, and love. In His human skin, He wore my sin on a cross He didn’t earn. That letter “K” here means that my earthly tendencies, sins, shortcomings, and shame are no longer mine to carry alone. When He put on skin, my flesh gained an earthly connection with His. Yes, He was still fully God, but He was also fully human. It’s only by that divine sacrifice that we have hope of Heaven. The 33 years Jesus spent wearing skin enabled our sin to be nailed to His cross. His victory over sin and death means this skin I’m in can walk and hope in the same. Sin was no match for Jesus—so neither is anything else I might face during my skin-bound journey. And one of these days, because of the blood of Jesus, we will shed our skin—and this sin-filled world we live in—and worship Him for all eternity.

All because He came.

Because He walked in our skin.

Because He died in our skin.

And because He conquered all that will plague us as long as we live in this skin.

If Jesus could text you right now, I believe He’d simply send a reminder that He loves you—despite what your skin has been guilty of. You could text Him back: “Please forgive me for the ways I’ve messed up,” and His response would be so much more than an impersonal, distanced “K.” It would likely be full of emojis: red hearts, party popper celebration cones, and maybe even a few of those hand-in-hand two-human figures—illustrating that you’re no longer walking alone. He’s always waiting to hear from us and ready to run in our direction as soon as we call.