Skin. It has been with me a lot lately. Having now gotten the stitches out from my third skin cancer surgery, I think daily about my skin as I have to care for the wound site.
Which leads me back towards my childhood. The first time I heard about skin was when one grandparent (not sure which) quoted, "She just got by, by the skin of her teeth". I'd never heard it before. Turns out it is biblical. Check out Job 19, especially verses 17 and following. And then there's also 'having skin in the game'. That is courtesy of derby racing and Warren Buffett. One more came to me; 'There's more than one way to skin a cat'. Now personally, I love our two kitties and would never do this. However, this first appeared in 1840 in 'The Money Diggers' by Seba Smith. Reminded me of pigs and dogs digging for truffles except this was for money.
And that's when Jesus stepped in again.
I was reading in Matthew and came across Matthew 21. And it hit me right where we have been this year. The costs of this are large. Walls were not cheap to build then and concrete is still expensive to pour now. Building this vineyard was expensive. The walls and watchtower alone would bankrupt many. But this is not the real cost. The real cost in the loss of human life, community togetherness and mutual sharing is phenomenally high. It makes the pain of my surgery pale in comparison.
Now that I have had my digging done on my face, wholeness and healing begin again. The same can happen in Jesus' parable if people are only willing to change.
So, how much skin do you have invested in what you are digging for? Pr. Scott
