Touch Life

Modern life has been re-composing rather quietly and subliminally. We are increasingly surrounded by inanimate, non-living things. Our homes, our cars, our offices, our streets and sidewalks and parking lots, our music players, our computers, our phones are not really alive. Our movies are a big chronicle of modern life, but most reel fantasy stories and characters which often and dramatically portray death and destruction. Senses are being fed a whole lot of material that is not alive and growing. The static world of decaying things just might explain why so many souls fall into depression, seek thrills from illicit sex and drugs, engage in derogatory speech, even commit suicide.

God is the Creator of life. He fills our world with life in various forms: fellow human beings, the plant kingdom, the animal world, birds of the air, and fish of the sea. Unlike anything else we see in the cosmos above us, our world teems with life. An unfortunate consequence of advancing society along the modern paradigm is sliding separation from the vast lifescape God lovingly put around us. We drink milk, but never pet or milk a cow. We eat eggs, but never chase or handle a chicken. We dine on seafood, but never net a fish. We eat many fruits and vegetables, but never plant a garden or orchard and touch the vine of life that yields the fruitfulness. The animals we gather around us, mostly cats and dogs, aquarium fish, caged parakeets, or maybe horses, are recreational delights, but they don’t feed us. The green life we exalt in our home landscape (grass, flowers, trees, and shrubs), likewise doesn’t feed us anything but aesthetics and fragrances. We are distancing from the greatest gifts of our loving Heavenly Father, and seem less happy about the subtle separation. Like our Father in Heaven, we are pre-eminent caregivers of Creation, but increasingly divorce from the most precious things we are ordained to care for (steward). On the human side, we are not even marrying like we used to, nor bearing children like we used to. Wives and children are the pre-eminent care receivers of God’s man, yet he is sadly falling away from it. Men today are touching life much less, losing the practice of it and the matchless benefit from it that God intends to fulfill our Godliness.

In Jesus day, the whole world was dying, and stood in great need of a Savior. The hurting and languishing flocked to see Him, perhaps touch Him (or even His garment). Who our Lord of Life touched amazingly healed, became whole, revitalized. Things are dark and doomy in many ways today. As we wait expectantly for the Return of the Lord, it might just be enlivening preparation to work more life-touching experiences back into American lifestyle. Touch the living things God has made and you connect with Him. Our man-made creations are impressive, but the God-made things have unique life-conferring quality. It’s therapy. It’s satisfaction. It’s work not laborious because of intrinsic blessing. Get next to God’s Living Word (the Bible) and you can be Spiritually reborn. Get next to God’s living works and your health and happiness and wisdom will recharge. Manage more directly the things God put Adam in charge of (green food vine, fish of the sea, birds of the air, beast of the field), and you will live in vital touch with God. His handiwork doesn’t deteriorate. Seeing it and helping it flourish raises your vital capacity, gives you a better sense of meaningful living, takes you away from passive existence or desperate survival. Revive love, marriage, and family, and you’ll once again touch the most divine of God’s creation every day with greatest affection.

My generation was encouraged to “see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil, think no evil.” Bathe your senses in life (by the way, letters in “life” reversed spell “evil”). Complementary counsel to “touching life” wisdom is to avoid looking at, talking about, listening to, or thinking about anything that takes away the serenity of God (Numbers:6). In other words, don’t touch death and destruction. Censor yourself and children from darkness of war and crime; sorrows of suffering and death; damage to self, Nature, and fellow man. These “downers” sorrow your indwelling God who is too pure to look upon sin of any sort (Habakkuk:1.13). You bless the Lord (Psalm:103) when you do not carry Him into grim places and repulsing experiences. Walk with Him on “high ground” of life, and He will bless, preserve, beautify, pacify, strengthen, and enliven.

I Believe

Ervin Drake, Irvin Graham, Jimmy Shirl, Al Stillman

1953

I believe for every drop of rain that falls a flower grows I believe that somewhere in the darkest night a candle glows I believe for everyone who goes astray Someone will come to show the way I believe, I believe

I believe above the storm the smallest prayer will still be heard I believe that someone in the great somewhere hears every word Every time I hear a newborn baby cry or touch a leaf or see the sky Then I know why I believe

#Touch #Life