There are many things in life that fascinate me of the many creations of God but one of the weirdest things I like to fascinate about is the human body and the many parts it has. God carefully thought about the functions of these and it amazes me to understand how they work down to how the heart works, to the eye, and all the way to DNA itself, the function and creation of the human body is amazing. I want to specifically focus today on three things, Epidermis, Dermis, and Hypodermis, which are the three layers of skin a human has. Did you know that the skin is the largest external organ that we as humans have? Your body could not perform the functions that keep you alive without the protection that the skin gives. As a child I played many sports and I was not a big believer in helmets, elbow or knee pads and my skin paid the price many times because of that. I still think to this day that my knee is down to the last layer of skin because of the many times it has been dragged across the blacktop while playing hockey or the many bike wrecks in crushed up gravel, glass, and metal driveways. Through all of that damage over the years, it seems to still have the three layers of skin fully intact.
We as humans have three layers of skin and each layer serves a purpose. I am not going to go into a full-blown Science presentation for you today but I am going to give some details of how each layer is similar to our representation of our daily walk with Christ. So, lets start with the outer part of our skin, which is called the Epidermis. This layer in has a total of five layers of skin by itself. This layer, being the outer layer is the only layer that is visible to the eyes. Unfortunately, because of this layer of skin being visible by others the color of it seems to define us on who we are, which completely misrepresents what God intended the color to be for. I am thankful that God sees us as his beautiful creation in the many different colors of skin he created in being white, brown, red, black, and yellow. He doesn’t focus on the outward color as a way to misrepresent our character. To be honest, I am tired of the hatred of God’s created humans against each other because of skin color. We are all created as a representation of the image of God (Genesis 1: 26-27) We as believers need to protect the outward skin of our brothers and sisters no matter what color they represent because just like the epidermis can form cancer when not protected, so can our walk with God if the color of skin is the only thing we focus on. Just like the Epidermis has pores that allows oil and sweat to escape in order to keep the bacteria from destroying the skin, we as followers of Jesus need to also keep the bacteria of this world out in order to cleanse our neighbors and allow God to change by our actions when we focus on Him first and not allow the color of a person to alter our decision making between love, hate, and sometimes fear. Just like the skin in this layer sheds the deadness off, we too as followers of Jesus need to shed our stereotypes of others based on skin color.
The next layer is the Dermis, which contains blood and lymph vessels, nerves, and other structures, such as hair follicles and sweat glands. There are a total of two layers of skin in the Dermis. This layer is where the pain is triggered to the brain on how to react. We as Christians have many things that can get on our nerves and we too don’t always react the right way. When this part of our skin is exposed, confusion can set in on how to treat the wound. Psalms 147:3 reminds us that when we are broken hearted and wounded Jesus heals is that healing for us and is able to bind those wounds up even if we react in a way we shouldn’t or are confused on how to react at all. Do not allow the exposure of the Dermis to affect your attitude while witnessing to others.
Lastly, the Hypodermis is the third and final part of the human skin. This section is made up of loose fatty tissue that serves the purpose of connecting the skin to the body and it helps create an insulation of protection. Sometimes, even though you may not appear to others as what you claim to be because they follow the world and not Jesus, it is wonderful to know that you are always protected by God’s word and that nothing can ever harm you from the truth because of that protection Jesus gives us when we follow Him. Jesus himself came to not only to save and bless, He came to protect as well and even before He died, he let the disciples know what was going to happen because he wanted to protect them from being lost. Don’t ever forget that you are protected by Jesus at all times, not necessarily physically always but spiritually and that when others try to harm you by name calling, and physical confrontation remember that you are just like Jesus and that God made you with Thick Skin for a purpose. When Jesus died every layer of skin was exposed but that did not stop Him from loving and forgiving the same people that harmed and killed Him, instead He had Thick Skin when others mocked Him. As you go on your journey today, remember to be like Jesus and that you have thick skin and His strength is always with you and with Him you can do anything (Philippians 4:13) Amen.
