with skin on

No doubt there have been times when you have felt alone.  Yes, you have The Triune God accompanying you, including The Holy Spirit in you.  So you're never truly alone, but it sure feels that way sometimes.  

There's an old story about a little girl who can't get to sleep and goes to her parents' bedroom to tell them so.  After comforting her, they put her back in her bed, reassuring her that they are nearby and that God will be at her side, watching over her.  The parents go back to bed, only to hear a little voice say, "I know that God is with me, but right now, I need God with skin on."

Thankfully, our God does have skin on.  The mystery of the Incarnation is that God became one of us, with skin on.  So He fully understands the need of a little girl, an old man, or Himself in the Garden of Gethsemane, for a gentle human/divine touch.   And our Lord still has skin on, not only in His Resurrected Body but also in His Body of believers here on earth.  We are encouraged not to neglect to meet together (Hebrews 10:25) and to greet one another with a holy kiss (2 Corinthians 13:12), which, we assume, includes that skin-ny embrace that we need.  And, as Hebrews 12:1 reminds us, we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,"  not only those alive with us in this life but also, as chapter 11 details, that immense cloud of witnesses who are now alive in glory, with their resurrected skin on, joining Jesus in His Intercession for us at the Father's Right Hand (Romans 8:35).

This is what the Apostles' Creed means when we declare, "I believe in the Communion of Saints."  We are ever surrounded by The Presence of God in Himself and in His Body, both militant and triumphant, some being sanctified and others fully glorified.  Let's receive this ministration of God with skin on, and let's minister it to others.