Who Do You Know that Needs a Healing Touch?

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My mother-in-love used to tell us how much she missed the blessing of caring touch. Recently, a friend of ours said the same thing following our Sunday morning hug. For those who live alone a caring healing touch is precious.

But it all really hit me when I read my morning devotion from, Just Like Jesus Devotional: A Thirty-Day Walk with the Savior, by Max Lucado where he wrote a moving account of the man healed of leprosy by Jesus in Matthew 8:

Then a man sick with leprosy came to him. The man bowed down before Jesus and said, “Lord, you have the power to heal me if you want.” Jesus touched the man. He said, “I want to heal you. Be healed!” Immediately the man was healed from his leprosy. v. 2–3

Lucado described the event over two days. First—the heartbreaking impact leprosy had on the man, his family, and their community. He called it the “banishing of a leper.”

The priest didn’t touch me. “You are unclean,” he told me. With one pronouncement. I lost my family, my farm, my future, my friends.

Their horror of my disease was greater than their concern for my heart so they, and everyone else I have seen since stepped back.

The following day, Two—the power of hope in the Master’s presence.

But then I saw him…

Before he spoke, I knew he cared. Somehow I knew he hated this disease as much as—no, more than—I hate it. My rage became trust, and my anger became hope.

And then—the power of the Master’s healing touch.

Had he healed me with a word, I would have been thrilled. He he cured me with a prayer, I would have rejoiced. But . . . He touched me.

He could have healed me with a word. But he wanted to do more than heal me. He wanted to honor me, to validate me, to christen me. Imagine that . . . unworthy of the touch of a man yet worthy of the touch of God.

There is power in the Master’s presence. There is healing in His touch. The power of hope and healing. Given to us that we might share it.

Stop for just a minute and imagine your life without caring touch. What would that mean to you?

You and I may not experience the illness of leprosy, but I wonder . . . when have we been banished? When do we banish? Who do we treat like a leper because of the way they look, how they act, what they say, or what they believe?

Who needs your touch?

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” ~Leo Buscaglia

And if you need caring touch . . . reach out. Hugs are great. When you give one, you get one in return.

I’ve had many times when a caring hug gave me hope I needed. Just knowing someone cared and that I wasn’t alone in my mess encouraged me.

Who needs your touch?

“How would your life be different if…You stopped making negative judgmental assumptions about people you encounter? Let today be the day…You look for the good in everyone you meet and respect their journey.” ~Steve Maraboli

So let’s ask, “Who am I treating like a leper? Is there an outcast I’m ignoring? Who needs my touch?

Jesus said, “This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.” John 15:12

Jesus didn’t keep His distance. He loved. He touched.

So, I’m challenging myself. Will you join me?

I want to see with eyes that care. To approach with a heart of compassion. To close the gap that separates. To touch and heal. I may not be able to heal illness, but with God’s help I may be able to help a hurting or lonely heart. You can too.

We can love like Jesus.

But…

We have to stop looking away and walking around. We have to love like Jesus.

“When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand.” ~Henri Nouwen

Who needs your touch?

Photo Credit – BossFight.co

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