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Getting Christ’s Touch
There was wondrous power in the touch of Christ when He was on the Earth. Wherever He laid His hand there was a blessing. Vertue went out of Him, in every touch of the sick .. and sad .. and wearisome .. giving full health .. and giving comfort & peace. That hand, glorified, now held in it’s grasp the seven stars. Yet there are senses in which the blessed touch of Christ is felt on the Earth. He is still as real today in our World … Matthew 8:16 “When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick” … as He was when He walked throughout Judea & Galilee, in human form. He was with each of His people, His parting promise was …
Matthew 28:20 “I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually—regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age.” AMP1
The hand of Christ is yet laid on the weary .. the suffering .. the sorrowful, and though it’s pressure, is unfelt, it’s power to bless in the same, as in ancient days. It is laid on the sick, when precious Heavenly words of cheer and encouragement from the scriptures are read at their bedsides, giving the sweet patience and quieting their fears ...
For the Weary:- Isaiah 40:31 “But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint"
For the Diseased & Lepers:- Luke 17:19 “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”
For the Fears & Love:- 1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love”
… it is His laid hand, on the sorrowful, when the consolations of divine have come to their hearts with blessed comfort, giving them strength to submit to Gods will and rejoice in the midst of trials. It is laid on the Faint .. and weary, when the grace of Christ comes to them with it’s Holy peace, hushing the tumultuous feelings, and giving into the true rest of their soul.
There is another way which the hand of God is laid on human hands. He sends His disciples out into the World to represent Him . . “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” [John 20:21] . . of cause the Holiest Christians lives can only be the dimmest , faintest reproductions of the rich, full, blessed life of Christ Jesus. Yet it is in this way, through earthen vessels, He has ordained us to save the World, and to heal, help comfort, lift up and build up man.
Perhaps in thinking of what God does for the World, we are to be inclined to over look the human, and think of Him touching lives directly and immediately. Lets say: A friend is struggling, with one or more of these .. addiction .. depression .. money or some other restraint. So going to our knees, we pray to God for Him to send them comfort. But it’s not to be that He would send them comfort through our own heart & lips? May be there is someone we love, whom is not doing so well, and is slowly drifting away from life, thus beyond recovery and now is about to pass away. In anguish we cry to God, pleading with Him to lay His hands on them. Surely, God wants us to be at this moment, to step out in faith. Just as the Centurion did when he approached Jesus, wanting Him to heal his servant ..
Matthew 8:5-10 “Acenturion came to Him, pleading with Him, 6 saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.” 7 And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard it, He marvelled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel” . . . certain it is, at least, that each one of us who knows the love of Christ is ordained to be Christ to others, that is, to show them the spirit of Christ, in patience .. gentleness .. thoughtfulness .. love and yearning for Christ. We are taught to say:- “Christ liveth in me” If this be true, Christ loves others through us, and our touch must be to others as the very touch of Christ Himself. Every Christian ought to be, in his human measure, a new incarnation of the Christ, so much so that people will say:- ‘He interprets Christ to me. He comforts me in my sorrow as Christ Himself would do if He were to come and sit down beside me, and is helpful .. patient as Christ would be if He were return and take me as a disciple’.
2 Corinthians 5:14 “For the love of Christ compels us”
We may help people in a certain way without loving them directly. We may render them services of a certain kind, benefiting them externally or temporally. We may put gifts into their hands .. building them houses .. purchasing the clothing .. carrying shopping .. improve their circumstances or conditions.
We may do many things for them. The highest and most real help, we can give them, only through loving them. We are to give ourselves unconditionally, looking for NO profit for self, on the surface, but our will, will soar high. I know of a woman who bought shopping for a family in need, had it delivered, with no name telling them whom had done this wondrously kind act. As, she, did not need to have the gratitude, only God knew who did this, that in it’s self was enough.
There’s a touching story I read about recently, a very suggestive story of a good woman, in Sweden, who opened a home for all crippled & diseased Children, Children for whom on one else was ready to care for. In due time she received about 20 of these unfortunate little ones. Among them was a boy of 3yrs old, who was the most frightful & disagreeable young boy, as he resembled a skeleton. His skin was covered in hideous blotches & soars. He was always whining and crying. The poor little boy gave the good lady more care and trouble, than all the others put together. She did her best for him and was as kind as possible, she washed him .. fed him .. and nursed him. But the poor child was so repulsive in his looks and in his ways, that try as she did, she could not bring herself to like him, sadly her disgust would show itself on her face, but in spite of her effort to hide it, she could not love the child.
One day she was sitting on the verandah steps ,of her home, with him in her arms. The sun was shinning brightly and the perfume of the Autumn honeysuckles, the chirping of the birds, and the buzzing of the insects, lulled her into a light sleep. Then in a half waking ~ half dreaming state, she though of herself as having changed places with the child, and was laying there only far more repulsive than he was. Stood over her was a shadow, and it was the Lord Jesus bending, looking lovingly into her face, yet with an expression of gentle rebuke in His eyes, almost as if to say:- ‘If I can bear with you, who are so full of sin, surely you ought for my sake, to love that innocent child who suffers for the sins of his parents’ . . .
Romans 12:9-11 “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honour giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord” . . . so she woke with a fervent start, and looking into the boys face, because he to had woken with a start, he looked into her face very earnestly. Sorry for her past disgust, and feeling compassion for him, and a new love springing up in her bosom for him. She bent her face to his and kissed him tenderly, more than she had ever kissed a babe of her own. With a startled look in his eyes and a flush on cheeks, the boy gave her a smile so sweet that she had ever seen, before. From that moment a wonderful change came over the child. The woman had seen a vision of hers elfin that blotched-repulsive-child, and of Christ’s wonderful love for her, in spite of her sinfulness. Under the inspiration of this vision, she had become indeed Christ to the child. The love of Christ had come into her heart.
This goes to show how important an earnest & truthful love is. Don’t lean on your own sight, as we need to see what God sees, thus being able to see what is before us. Christ loves the unlovely .. the loathsome .. the deformed .. the diseased. We have only to think of ourselves as we are in His sight, and remember that in spite of all the moral and spiritual loathsomeness in us. He yet loves us, does not shrink away from us, and lays His hands on us, healing us. This woman had got a touch from Christ, but also getting the love of Christ in her heart. We can get it no other way. We must see ourselves as Christ’s servants, and to be to others what He is to us. Then shall we be fit to bless every life our lives touch. Our words shall throb with love of Christ, and find their way to the hearts of the weary & sorrowful.
There will be a sympathetic thrill in our lives which will give a strange power of helpfulness to what ever we do, says this mystery writer .. “let man press nearer to God and open His nature more widely to admit the energy of Christ, and whether He knows it, he will certainly be growing in the power God with man, and man with God”… Matthew 8:3-4 “Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.”Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”... Everywhere about us, there are lives which, by the touch of ‘our hand’, in loving warmth, in Christ’s name, would be wondrously blessed.
I want to share one more story with you, if you will indulge me .. A tail of a fell going to a jewellers to look at some gemstones. Among other stones, there was an Opal. As it lay there, however it appeared dull and altogether lustreless. Then the jeweller took into his hand, and held it for some moments, and the showed to his customer. Now the Opal gleamed and flashed with all the glories of the rainbow. As all it needed was the human hand to bring out the iridescence .. There are human lives everywhere about us that are rich in their possibilities of beauty and glory. .
NO gems and jewels are so precious!
. . but we do see some people as they are at the moment, as dull and lustreless and without brightness. It could be that they are covered in life stains, and defiled by sin. Even so, all they need is the touch of Christ, to bring out their radiance .. the loveliness, the beauty of the divine image in them. You and I must be the hand of Christ to those that are lustreless and those stained lives by sin. Next time when out and about, try to see past someone’s ’shopfront’, more often than not their beauty is waiting for you to open the door and let God’s radiance to shine in, and illuminate them with His touch through us.
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1:- AMP = Ampilfied version of the Bible
