Real Hope: Relationship With GodSample

Present Jesus

A friend of mine was asked by his young son to stay with him for a while one night because the boy was a bit scared of the dark. The father, trying to comfort the boy said, "Don’t worry, Jesus is with you," to which the boy replied, "Yes, I know, but I want somebody with skin on."

We are all aware that God is omniscient (all-present), but He is also invisible. As a young man, I had committed my life to the invisible God but I distinctly remember how greatly encouraged I was with the knowledge that Jesus Christ had literally and physically walked with and ministered to His disciples on earth. In other words, Jesus was God "with skin on." To me, it made God Himself more relatable.

Now that I’m older and my Christian walk is more mature, the revelation and the deep theological truth that Jesus Christ is God "incarnate" or literally "God in the flesh" (1 Timothy 3:16) powerfully motivates the way I see God and the way I live.

Please consider this the next time you read the New Testament’s accurate historical record of Jesus’ earthly ministry. He was here, literally and physically, to demonstrate the reality and accessibility of God to man. Mark 1:41 records Jesus healing a leprous man – "Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him." Can you imagine that? Jesus Christ, God the Son, standing on the earth connecting with us that we too might connect with His Father, God, in heaven. Go ahead. Call out to Him now. Reach out to Him and receive His nearness and closeness.

Written by JOHN SCOTT