The Touch of Divinity

I've been thinking about physical touch a lot as of lately. It all started when I was doing some reading for my class on teaching appropriate behaviors to children with autism & developmental delays. Normally developing children naturally learn to imitate the behaviors of those around them, especially in their most early stages. However, children with autism are without that cognitive ability. When a therapist intervenes to teach them to imitate appropriate behaviors in society, they will use positive and negative reinforcement. My book gave a list of the ways children like to be positively reinforced. One of them was hugging.

I was strangely warmed by this. This idea that there is an innate desire to make physical contact with someone when we want praise. Being human is quite strange, is it not? Why do we crave physical touch? Why does a hug neurologically signal comfort, or acceptance, or praise? 

Romans 11 says, "From him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever." All things have a purpose and that is to make much of God's name. If everything is for the magnification of God's glory, than physical touch is no exception. It is hard for me to imagine this, because God is not a physical being. He doesn't touch me when I'm scared, or lonely, or in need. He speaks to me, but until now, I've never thought of him somehow touching me. There are examples of God using his touch to communicate to his people in the Old Testament. When he wrestled with Jacob, he "touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wretched.." As he spoke to Jeremiah, he "touched [his] mouth and said to [him] 'I have put my words in your mouth.'" In Daniel, God rouses him with a touch to give him prophesy. In the new Testament we of course see Christ using physical touch to heal, raise the dead and give assurance. 

Does God "touch" us now? Like many aspects of God's character, we see a shift after Christ's resurrection. God uses the Holy Spirit and the people around us to convey what he used to do physically. What I've come to understand is that though God doesn't use physical touch to communicate with me any more, he uses the touch of other people to convey His love, acceptance, and assurance. 

What does this mean? It means there is a sacredness looming about physical touch. A sacredness that I don't always recognize or appreciate. If physical touch is a portal of God's glory to humanity, I should tread very carefully upon it. 

I want to steady the trembling hand. Lean my shoulder in for the weak. I don't think I recognized what power I have been given through the use of my physical body. That God wants to use my wretchedness to speak of his perfect love...I just cannot believe it.  God uses my humanity to speak of his divinity.