It is hard to fathom why our omnipotent and omniscient God would touch a person. On the other hand, to state that He can knowingly touch us can makes some people angry if they don’t know God. “How dare you think that God really relates to a single person”, they might say. Others might think God’s “touch” is just a delusion. At the same time, most people understand that the touch of a person who is a friend is special, so why would a touch from Him, Who created us, not be special, too?
I want to draw a picture with a picture. The picture shows my wife and two of our Philippine friends clowning around. They came to visit us and see how we were doing in our hotel room. All of us were staying in the same hotel during a conference in Mindanao. My wife, Linda, invited them to sit on the bed with her since there were no available chairs, but they all started clowning around. It led to a picture as they talked, hugged, laughed, and smiled.
We know these two young ladies. We love them. They love us. One is a school principal; the other is a teacher and works with children in drama. Every trip has drawn us closer together because we love the same Lord, Who is so special to all of us. The moment in the room was fleeting but special because it is love that is energized and deepened by the love of Jesus Christ. So it is with so many of our friends in the Philippines as well as the US…or Uganda…or other places. We share a powerful bond with our Lord, Who has given us peace and life. Even in the midst of trials or troubled times that we have shared with friends, we love each other because He loved us, so little touches, expressions of love or concern, become opportunities to affirm our faith in Christ.
Have you read the scenes of Jesus in the gospels? Look again has He touches the hand of a person, or turns to look at them, or addresses them or their situation directly. This is the same God who constructed the universe; the same One that says to pray and not give up; the same One that says He will not leave us alone like orphans. It is the love of God, made known to our friends and us, that draws us close, makes us able to love each other as He loves us, and carries us through difficult situations or times.
Do you know the touch of His hand? If you do, you can rejoice and say “amen”. If you do not, consider the claims and statements of Jesus Christ. To the world who does not know Him, these claims are outrageous and unreal, but God makes His intentions clear: He came to save us, redeem us from all sorts of things, and have a people for Himself. It only takes a choice to believe in Him above all else. He has to do the work inside the heart, because we cannot. But when we believe and He does that work in us, it changes things forever. Then you can be part of making scenes like the one in the picture–knowing that love that makes us able to love each other so strongly is the same one as Christ has for us.
I pray we will see our friends in the picture many more times, but we may not. However, we are sure of this: the love we have for each other is permanent–made sure and deep through the love of Christ.
John 15:12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
John 13:34 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
John 14:18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
