Remember the song, “Can’t Touch This!” by MC Hammer? I loved that song! “You can't touch this. You can't touch this. You can't touch this. You can't touch this. My, my, my my music hits me so hard, Makes me say, "Oh my Lord" Thank you for blessin' me…” I thought about it when I was thinking about how we are not supposed to touch people. I MISS HUGGING AND SHAKING HANDS! The spread of germs is first on everyone’s minds. Most people are wearing masks, sanitizing surfaces, taking temperatures, etc. We are having to “social distance” to reduce contact between people in order to slow the transmission and reduce the impact of COVID. I am not saying it is not necessary, I am saying it is not easy! Humans were made for physical touch so this is hard.
Thankfully, we know that God is with us wherever we are. Psalm 145: 18, “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” He will never leave us or forsake us. Hebrews 13: 5, “...God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”
I do not know when this will be over but, for now, I am thankful for phone calls, snail mail, online services and video calls. For some people in the midst of isolation this is a lifeline. We need to be aware of those who feel isolated. There are many single people who live alone, elderly, disabled, etc. This was something God laid on my heart last March. I needed to make sure that my uncle was laughing so each week I would send him jokes. Snail mail, of course, because he doesn’t use the internet. Then I thought about some people at church who loved jokes and I wanted to make sure they were laughing. Eight months later and 40 recipients later, I am loving writing a weekly letter of encouragement with scripture and some jokes. Through this “ministry” I have made some very valuable friendships! God always brings good! Romans 8: 28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
There was remote healing in the Bible. A woman was healed from a 12 year issue with blood just by touching the hem of Jesus’ garment! A centurion’s servant receiving a healing from afar. Matthew 8: 8-13, “The centurion replied, ‘Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed...When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, ‘Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith….Then Jesus said to the centurion, ‘Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.’ And his servant was healed at that moment.”
A lot can happen in this broken world but nothing and no one can separate us from the love of God. Romans 8: 38-39, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Not even Covid! What can we do to help others feel the love of Jesus during this time?
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