Jesus With Skin On

This post is linked to Women in the Word Wednesdays.

While listening to a radio program this week, the host made the comment that sometimes we Christians need to see "Jesus with skin on". It's been over 2,000 years since Jesus came to us in the flesh. I would have loved to talk with Jesus in His bodily form here on earth and see his interactions with other people. Now, we interact with Him on a spiritual level, of course, but I think we sometimes get a little too "spiritual" for our own good. We have lots of ideologies about the Christian life, but sometimes we fail to show a lost world or even other Christians what Jesus in the flesh really looks like.

I've been convicted of this mostly in my own family. The Bible tells me that my marriage is supposed to be a reflection of the Church's relationship to Christ. If I belittle my husband to friends, I am showing them that it is o.k. to make a joke out of Jesus. If I roll my eyes when he asks me to do something, I am showing disrespect to the One Who created me. If I inwardly resent a real or imagined offense from my husband, I am demonstrating a wrong attitude towards the One who died for me.

In the same way, my mothering should be a picture of God's nurturing care for his children. Speaking harshly or critically to my children is not an accurate portrayal of how God deals with us. God never vents his frustrations on us or allows us to rebel without consequence.

Jesus spoke of this eternal purpose for Christians when He told us to care for the "least of these" as if we were serving Him. He no longer walks earthly streets as one person in human flesh. He lives in each of us and expects every Christian to be "Jesus with skin on" to a lost world. And what better place to start than our own homes?