Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Touch

“And as many as touched Him were made well.” Mark 6:56

When Asians think of Americans, one of the things that come to mind is that Americans are very private people. It seems to Asians that Americans consider privacy very important. While that may seem true, I have also noticed that Americans are very ‘touchy’ people. Americans like to ‘touch.’ When greeting one another, people will shake hands, give a hug, or even a light kiss on the cheek. While shaking hands may be very common in Korea, we are mostly used to bowing our head when it comes to greeting, and therefore, there is not much of touching involved. And so many Asians find it awkward at first to receive a hug when being greeted.

But ‘touch’ is important. As one of the five senses, to touch means to relate to one another. It is a means of sharing feelings, or welcoming one another. There is intimacy in a touch. There is bonding in a touch. When I come home from work, I love to hug and kiss my wife and my baby girl. There is comfort and happiness in it.

Remember that story when Jesus went with Jairus to heal his daughter? Remember that moment Jesus was delayed by this certain woman on the way? Well, this woman who was suffering from a flow of blood for 12 years. She wanted to be healed and when the opportunity came in the midst of that crowd, she ‘touched’ Jesus. She was instantly healed.

Interesting thing is that she wasn’t the only person that touched Jesus. In the book of Mark, after Jesus walked on the water they came to the land of Gennesaret. As soon as Jesus and the disciples landed on the shore, sick people approached Jesus and they touched Jesus. They were all made well.

You know, I want to touch Jesus, too. As I have mentioned earlier, there is something special about a touch. And so I want to touch Jesus. I want to be healed of my sins as I touch Him and I want to be at His side.

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