Article submitted by Julie Merrin, Field Coordinator in SE Asia
Things I Have Learned from My Little Girl: I Want Someone Close Beside Me
That is a familiar cry from my little social butterfly. I guess some kids actually enjoy spending time alone…for a while, but not my daughter. She needs to learn to do it, so I insist on some quiet time on a regular basis where she can learn to play on her own and entertain herself, but this virtually always meets with resistance. “I want someone close beside me!” I remind her that Jesus is always with her. “But I want someone I can SEE!” Rachel knows Jesus is always with her, but as a human being, sometimes she just wants someone she can see and touch.
That is a common human condition. Yes, God is with us always. His Holy Spirit can speak to us in our hearts in ways that no human being can speak. But I believe he also understands that there are times when we need “God with skin on”. That is why we…the Church…the body of Christ is here. God wants us to reach out to those who are hurting – to those who need to know that someone is close beside them. God is always there, and He is perfectly capable of touching hurting hearts all on His own, without us. But often, He chooses to offer comfort through the hands of His children reaching out, through the eyes of His children that can cry with those who hurt, and through the feet of His children who will go out of their way to offer practical help.
I wonder who around you needs someone to be close beside them? Will you be “God with skin on” to someone today?