In 1880, the
novel “Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ,” by Lew Wallace, appeared on the literary
scene and was hailed as one of the most influential books of its time. Several
movie versions of the story were produced through the years, but its basic
message—that belief in Jesus can and does change lives--has remained
consistent.
Centering on the
experiences of a Jewish prince named Judah Ben-Hur, who later converts to
Christianity, the figure of Christ is first seen offering Ben-Hur, who has been
taken prisoner by the Romans, a drink of water. During their brief encounter,
only Jesus’ hand is visible reaching for the prisoner’s face in a gentle
gesture of love and encouragement. This simple act touches Ben-Hur deeply and
sets the stage for his later conversion.
Despite the
emotion that such a moving scene can produce in movie-goers, it is after all
only fiction. But, there are a great many more instances in the real life of
the man called Jesus Christ where his touch did encourage and heal in ways that
are still very much available to us to this day.
During his short
ministry here on earth, Jesus healed many who came to him when they had nowhere
else to go. Crowds followed him, not only to hear his word, but in the hope
that his very proximity to them might have some positive effect on what, for
many, were miserable existences. (Mark 8:22-25) Jesus never failed them, and
through his own laying on of hands, demonstrated the incredible power of the
touch of one person reaching out to help another.
Jesus’ primary
mission was to convey to the world that God’s power and mercy are boundless and
he used his own touch to get that message across. The pity that Jesus took on
the sick and afflicted also knew no bounds, and he amazed the people by his
ability to heal simply by touching them. (Mark 1:40-41)
More than 2,000
years have passed since Jesus brought his Father’s message to the world, a
world which had, for the most part, turned its back on all that the Lord had
done for them since the days of Abraham. The people living during Jesus’ time
had the great blessing of seeing him in the flesh and hearing him speak. But
was that the end of it? What about all those of us who would come later? Did
Jesus forget about us? Were we doomed to never experience his loving and
healing touch?
To those who
believe, the answer to that is a resounding NO! While Jesus is no longer here
in the flesh to reach out his hand to us, he continues to do so in many other
wonderful ways. First and foremost, Jesus continues to reach us through his
holy word. One has only to read a portion of the Gospels using Jesus’ own
utterances to realize the impact they still have to this day. The very act of
giving verbal shape to what Jesus said is in itself the gift of him speaking
through us.
Another way that
Jesus’ touch remains alive and vibrant for us to this day is when we share it
with each other. A sympathetic hug during difficult times, a squeeze of the
shoulder, a clasp of the hand, a caress of the face, even just an empathetic look,
has the power to comfort and transform, as much now as when Jesus did it
himself. This isn’t restricted to just interactions between those who know each
other, for Jesus exists in every single person we meet along the journey of our
lives. (Matthew 25:40)
Touch between
humans can take another form, too, much as it did in Jesus’ time, simply
through our behavior and our actions. We can effectively touch each other’s
lives with our spirits, by the things we do or say, or by how we conduct our
lives, specifically the examples we set that can inspire others to do better in
their own lives. (Titus 2:6-7) This is the essential part of the ministry of
all Christians, for Jesus saved us from our sins not only through his sacrifice
but also by providing a living example of what the perfect human being should
be like.
No one would
argue that fiction is often entertaining and sometimes even enlightening. But
it is never to be confused with what Jesus came to accomplish on earth.
For it is
written… “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen
his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father full of
grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
*****
(Created in August 2018)
Note: All
Scripture notations taken from the New International Version (NIV)
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