Women are very conscious of caring for their skin.  Men… not so much.  But even women who are ever seeking to protect and keep their skin’s appearance looking young rarely talk about the importance of our skin for life.  I was reading about creation and found several fascinating things about our skin.  Here is an article that covers 6 key functions….

Protection

The skin functions as our first line of defense against toxins, radiation and harmful pollutants. Skin contains cells that provide immune functions to protect against infections.

Absorption

Thousands of pores on the surface of the skin can absorb vitamins, acids, water and oxygen in order to provide moisture and nourishment to our skin.

Excretion

The skin is the body’s largest waste removal system. Toxins are released through the sweat glands and pores.

Secretion

The skin secretes sebum, a mixture of oils that keeps the skin soft and supple. The layer of sebum on the outermost layer of the skin is known as the acid mantle which protects the skin from outside invasion.

Regulation

The skin regulates the body’s temperature by sweating; when water from sweat on the skin evaporates it gives off heat and cools the body.  

(This was taken from:http://scottsdaleskinrejuvenation.com/6-functions-of-the-skin/).

Sensation

The skin contains millions of nerve endings that transport stimuli. These nerve endings allow humans to detect sensation such as heat, cold, pain and pressure.  (This was taken from:

Old Testament passages speak of how the skin is affected in times of illness that lingers…

Lamentations 3:4  – He has made my flesh and my skin waste away; he has broken my bones;

Job 19:20  – My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh, and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.

The day is coming when we die and our flesh decays to dust.  Scripture, however, gives us great promises about “life after life” for our “bodies” ….

Job 19:26 – And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.  

1 Corinthians 15:51-56 – Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. ⁵⁴ When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

⁵⁵ “Where, O death, is your victory?  Where, O death, is your sting?”

⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.