His Touch

Musings on the Touch of the Lord Jesus

"Jesus Christ was made sin for us, although in Himself He knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. O that poor sinners would go to Jesus, believing in the power of His blessed substitutionary work, and they would soon learn the power of His gracious touch. That hand which multiplied the loaves, which saved sinking Peter, which upholds afflicted saints, which crowns believers, that same hand will touch every seeking sinner, and in a moment make him clean. The love of Jesus is the source of salvation. He loves, He looks, He touches us, WE LIVE."~ C.H. Spurgeon from a meditation on Mark 1:41

Here is a thought that I can't comprehend even slightly. I have insufficient understanding to rationalize the condescension of the Son of God to ever even look at me, nevermind to look at me and love me. On the darkest of days when I find myself overwhelmed by the weight of my own depravity, I find myself wanting to run and hide from the Savior who looks at me. When I feel most undeserving and broken, I begin to close my heart to His love because it is painful to let His fire consume all the dross that collects there.

My humanity begs me to run away from God's eyes and His heart, but the Spirit within me longs to have Him as close to me as possible. Sometimes I even catch myself asking, "Lord, if I could just touch You and know You're there...if you could just show me Your glory and Your holiness so I would understand and never forget..."

Think of all the times Jesus touches. He touches the leper and makes him clean. He touches the blind man and makes him see. He touches the deaf man and makes him hear. He touches the crippled man and makes him walk. He touches the dead young woman and makes her live. He touches the bleeding woman and makes her blood stop flowing. Time and time again, He touches the guilty and makes him innocent. He touches the sinner and makes him...a saint.

To shrink from the cleansing touch of the Lord Jesus is to shrink from the hand of healing and grace. To shy away from His hand is to shy away from that nail-pierced hand which bled to purge me of my sin and cover me in righteousness. True, the truth of the words of Jesus can be difficult to swallow because I have selfish pride. His brutally honest assessment of my hard heart can sting like acid and draw out painful tears.
But, it is worth it to be touched by the One who holds the universe in the hollow of His hand. Every minute is worth it to be held by my Redeemer who has promised to never let me go.

"And He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see.." (Luke 24:38-39) And just look at this invitation: Jesus invites His disciples to probe His humanity...to see His hands and feet and to touch Him. He understood what a touch meant...after all, He created us.

A bizarre thought came to me as I mused on the touch of Jesus. There is an old song from the movie, "That Thing You Do", that my sisters and I used to sing and dance to when we were younger. The chorus I have never forgotten and it goes like this:
"I want you to know when you hold my hand you hold my heart
I want you to see when our eyes meet my loving just starts
I want you to say you're thinking of me those nights when we're apart
I want you to know when you hold my hand you hold my heart."

We are interconnected beings. In effect, our hearts lead our bodies. When I hold someone's hand, I am being tied to their heart. When I come to hold someone's heart close, I want to hold them close. When "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us," (John 1:14) He touched people. He wanted their hearts to be His, so He touched them with healing and tenderness and their hearts followed. What an amazing thought!

So, what has impressed me most is this: Sometimes, in order to take full hold of our hearts, the Lord will touch our bodies. Perhaps with sickness, or pain, or desire, or insomnia, or abnormality, or injury, or even inability. Sometimes to make us trust the power of His hand, He will tie our hands behind our backs, figuratively, so there is no other option left.

Cancer...can we cure it? No, but He can...and if He doesn't, His hand has the power to use everything for His glory. The same with all the other things in our physical lives. What about infertility? Addiction?  Paralysis? Please understand that I would never gloss over the pain and difficulty of these and other circumstances...I cannot imagine what it would be like to experience them, and my prayers ascend daily for those who struggle with physical difficulties I know very little about.

But, I know this one thing: Jesus still touches us. He is still after our hearts. And when we surrender to His touch, however painful at first, our hearts will be changed and healed in exactly the way He desires. His greatest longing that was spoken again and again to the children of Israel? The love of their hearts. And that's what He wants from us today.