Show Up With Skin On
A four-year-old girl woke up one night frightened.
She was convinced that in the darkness around her there were all kinds of spooks and monsters. Alone, she ran to her parents’ bedroom.
Her mother calmed her down and, taking her by the hand, led her back to her own room, where she put on a light and reassured her with these words: “You needn’t be afraid. You are not alone here. God is in the room with you.”
The girl replied, “I know that God is here, but I need someone in this room with skin on.”[1]
Being There
God knew this, too. Real love is being there in the flesh.
In a world racked with fear and loneliness, Jesus’ birth ushered in a revolutionary concept: God with skin on. The very presence of God in a person.
When Jesus left heaven and came to earth, he modeled what grace-filled love looks like.
Leaving our world and entering someone else’s is a profound way to offer God’s unmerited love. When we run across people who are dealing with a broken dream, untamed fears, a lack of direction, or a sense of loneliness, what they need most is someone to be there, in the room, with skin on.
Struggling
A while back, I met with a promising young man who was really struggling. Deep down, he was angry. You could see it in the way he blew off his studies, treated his family, and spoke to his teachers. I had no idea what was troubling him, so I took a shot in the dark. “Have you lost anyone close to you?”
With his head down, he said slowly, “Yeah, my brother.” He shared his devastation over his brother’s death. Although it had been several years, he had looked up to his brother so much and still missed him every day.
After a while, I asked, “Are there other losses?”
He said, “Yeah, my grandma.” She had died about three years before our conversation. For a moment, his face lit up when he talked about her, but losing her only fueled his sense of confusion, hurt, and anger.
To lighten the mood, I said, “Tell me about your dad. Where is he?”
“In jail,” he answered.
After a pause, I asked, “How long has he been there?”
“Pretty much my whole life.”
At that point, I knew I was leaving my world and entering his because I started to feel his grief. I began to understand where his anger came from—loss after loss after loss, all of them beyond his control.
We talked for a while longer and then set up another time. Considering all that he carried, I could have talked about the love of God for weeks on end and never made a dent.
Enter Another’s World
What this young man needed was someone with skin on. Someone who would enter his world and listen. Someone who would be with him.
Jesus’ beloved disciple John wrote,
We love because he first loved us.
1 John 4:19 NRSVUE
Jesus demonstrated God’s love for us by personally entering our world. When we do that for others, we are offering grace.
Do you know anyone who simply needs another human being to enter their world, listen and be there? Maybe that human is you.
If so, don’t worry about what to say or what you should do. This is not a doing moment. It’s a being one. Just show up with skin on and be there.
Sometimes, that’s what we need the most.
*This post is adapted from Kinda Christian: From Curious to Serious about Jesus by Roger Ross. It offers a clear, grace-filled path for the spiritually curious to discover the kind of life Jesus actually invites us to live.
Kinda Christian releases October 21, 2025, wherever books are sold. It’s available for preorder at www.invite.pub/kinda
[1] Scazzero, Peter, Warren Bird, and Ronald Rolheiser, The Emotionally Healthy Church: A Strategy for Discipleship that Actually Changes Lives, Grand Rapids, MI, South Barrington, IL: Zondervan ; Willow Creek Resources, 2015, p. 175.