fidzbit

Have you ever stopped to think about ‘touch’? Me neither. At least, not until the last few days. It is only as I try not to touch my face and wash my hands that I have started thinking about how much I do touch my face and how many surfaces have my finger prints on them: door handles, fridge handles, kettle handles, taps, books, phone, computer, cutlery, plates, mugs, bag handles, TV remote, chip and pin pads, pens and stationary - the list is endless! Then there are those more relational touches, when I hold my wife’s hand or pick up my children for a cuddle or to gently clean the latest skinned knee. It is difficult to imagine having to go without these touches for a few hours, let alone days or weeks! What would it be like if you couldn’t touch anything? What would it be like if you couldn’t touch anyone ? In Jesus’ day, no one would dare to touch a leper. It may still be like that in some parts of the world today. As well as the fear of infection there was a social stigm...

Two of my friends are about to come out of isolation. Having developed virus symptoms they followed government recommendations and stayed locked in for several days. Their quarantine time has now passed and their personal restrictions can be relaxed. How do we come out of isolation when our own selfishness and sin have isolated us from God? It is no easy thing to do. The Bible describes our spiritual self-isolation as ‘falling short of God’s glory’, being at ‘enmity’ with God, and being ‘dead in trespasses and sins’. At heart sin involves the rejection of God’s infinite love. The consequences of this are not easily undone. It is not a temporary infection but a chronic, terminal illness which, left untreated, leads to an eternal isolation from God and permanent exclusion from Heaven in a terrible place the Bible calls ‘Hell’. Many people try to treat themselves. They try a bit of moral reform or religion to improve their condition. The problem is that this only covers the symptom...