Touching Is Believing

by Claire Hampton.  Claire is a junior at Huntsville High School.  She and her family attend Cove Church@Chase, where she is a worship leader in the Student Ministry band.

My sisters and I all wanted to touch everything when we were kids – there is no denying it. Hair, glasses, jewelry, keys, phones, you name it. Even dirt was something we just wanted to grasp. And why? Merely out of curiosity and the awe of holding something so wonderful – yes, dirt may have seemed wonderful at the time.  The desire to touch things is part of what makes us human. 

For me, I always wanted to touch anything creeping or crawling. Who cares about dirt when there are worms and snails hiding under rocks? I was also the one to make a flip chart to show our parents all the pros about having a dog or cat. Turns out I’m pretty good at making puppy eyes because we are the proud owners of a Labradoodle and an Orange Tabby. I held a tarantula when I was just three years old, and I am very proud of that moment. But don’t worry – the worms and snails were just a phase. 

We also try to hold on to memories through photographs and tokens of the past, tangible reminders that we can physically hold. So I guess you could say “touching is believing” as well as “seeing is believing.”

God sent his one and only Son down to Earth so he could die on the cross for our sins. By doing this, the people of that time got to walk with Jesus and talk face to face with Him; they got to touch Him. Mary held Him in her arms as an infant and the disciples’ feet were washed by His hands. The woman who had been suffering from twelve years of constant bleeding was healed by His touch:

She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition. Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?” . . . .   And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”  - Mark 5:27-34

Since she believed that a single touch could heal her, she was transformed and made new. 

Today we do not have the luxury of being able to touch the Son of God, but we have something else - faith. By faith we can hold the hands of Christ through the good times and bad. Christmas is a time for giving and loving. So be like Olaf (sorry for quoting Frozen) and give warm hugs. Love is the greatest gift of all and God gave us just that. Faith is what links Heaven to earth and touches our hearts forever. Don’t forget.