Tag: touch

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Therapeutic touch

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Kateryna Hliznitsova on Unsplash

Some “through the bible” thoughts from Matthew 8.

A leper came to [Jesus] and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. (Matthew 8:2-3)

Jesus didn’t have to touch this man to heal him. He can heal just by speaking. He can heal at a distance, too. He heals a centurion’s servant without going to his house. Jesus heals other lepers while they are on their way to be pronounced clean by a priest.

But sometimes Jesus touches a person to heal them. He touches the blind and the deaf to restore their lost senses. I’m not sure why he does or doesn’t.

I just remember that no one could come near or touch God in the Old Testament. When God was in the cloud on top of Mount Sinai, no one could get near the mountain except for Moses. If you touched it, you died. That same God, in the flesh, now touches people and gives them life.

How do you think that felt? What would it be like to shake Jesus’s hand? What about a hug? Would that be a powerful moment? Do you imagine Jesus’s hands to be rough and calloused? Was his healing touch gentle or firm?

Some people are very touchy when they talk. They reach out and touch your arm or hand as a natural extension of their words. That doesn’t bother me, but I notice it when someone converses with frequent touch. Maybe it’s their way of connecting, of making sure you’re paying attention.

A touch to my ribs makes me jump. The grasp of a little hand reassures me that a grandchild is safe with me. I’m glad when someone grabs my arm so I don’t bump into someone. I’m annoyed when someone bumps into me.

Touch can mean a lot of different things. I imagine Jesus’s touch to communicate love, life, and security.

Posted in Life

A sensory God

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Richárd Ecsedi on Unsplash

I was reading Psalm 115 this morning and I was struck by how interactive the Christian faith is. It is not just words on a page. It’s not just stories in a book. It’s not just images of biblical truths on t-shirts or coffee mugs. We experience the truths of the faith because God interacts with us in sensory ways.

The psalmist backs into this by describing idols made by human hands. They don’t say anything, see anything, hear anything, smell anything, feel anything or go anywhere. They are good for nothing. On the other hand, God does all of these things and more. That’s why we can trust him to help, protect, remember and bless us.

It’s not subtle. God is dramatically different than anything else you can fear, love, or trust.

  • He speaks. He speaks words that create life, hope, and peace. We know that all he has to do is say the word, and something happens.
  • He sees. He sees what’s going on in the world and in our lives. He looks into our hearts and see what we truly desire. He can also see what we ultimately trust.
  • He hears. He hears our complaints, laments, questions and cries for help. He hears our praise and thanksgiving. He hears every request, too.
  • He smells. Prayers and sacrifices wrapped in smoke are a pleasant aroma to him. The stink of death doesn’t deter him from giving us new life.
  • He feels. He feels the touch of the desperate who need healing, the worship of the thankful, and the pain of the nails that held him to the cross.
  • He walks. He walks through crowds, on top of the water, and up the hill to a cross.

Created in his image, we see, hear, taste, smell, and feel, too. If we’re paying attention, each of our senses connects us to the Creator. They give us sensory access to his divine power and nature.

So what did I see, hear, touch, smell, and taste today? And how did it remind me of my God, who is so much more than any idol I might craft in my mind or heart?