The largest organ of our bodies is the skin covering about
21 square feet of the average adult body and weighing 9 pounds with more than
11 miles of blood vessels. Our skin sheds 50,000 cells every minute and humans
are responsible for about a billion tons of dust (dead skin) in the atmosphere.
God’s creative work helps us “feel” the world around us. Receptors enable us to
feel and react to pain and to touch. A study conducted in the 1940’s of 26
children in an orphanage proved the value of touch. Removed from human touch as
infants, there development was significantly derailed in that at the age of one
they were less curious, less playful, and more subject to infections. By the
age of 3, only 2 of the 26 children could walk and manage a few words (http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/capsules/histoire_bleu06.html).
When we ourselves or someone we know is hurting, our first
response is to touch. Doctors and Nurses know the value of touch. First responders
know the value of touch, often employing touch as a technique to calm and
soothe pain, confusion, and agony. Teachers know the value with a student who
is not listening or causing a disturbance by simply touching their shoulder
often draws their attention back into order. When a loved one dies, or is
involved in a tragic accident, family gathers and touches. When a child scrapes
their knee parents console with touch. Customarily, when we meet one another we
shake hands or hug. Even for those who struggle with touch, often resort to
fist bumps as an acceptable form of touch.
God touches us all. Adam was not just acquainted with
fellowship with God, but God actually touched him. When God formed man in
Genesis 2:7 the word “formed” in Hebrew is “yatsar” which means to mold into a
form much like a potter. God’s hands reached down, touched Adam, and formed him
with love and care. In Genesis 2:22, God made Eve and the Hebrew word for
“made” is “banah,” which means to build. Therefore, men are Biblically correct
when they say, “She’s built!” Oh, I digress. God too touched her. We see in
Jeremiah 1:5 that God forms and touches babies in the womb utilizing the same
Hebrew word found in Genesis 2. There is a deep longing within the heart of man
to feel the touch of God again in their lives. Nothing can satisfy the heart of
man until they are experiencing the touch of God in their lives. When man separates
himself from the touch of God, man is lost. Sin separates us from the touch of
God. Have you experienced the touch of God again in your life recently? Do you
experience His touch daily? You can! Where are you? Do you recognize your lost
state? You may need to just get in His presence today and feel God’s touch.
Then the word of the Lord came to me [Jeremiah], saying,
Before I formed you in the womb I knew [and] approved of you [as My chosen
instrument], and before you were born I separated and set you apart,
consecrating you; [and] I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. (Jeremiah
1:4-5 (AMP)
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