God has His ways of communicating with us: His Word and the Holy Spirit. Both of those are ways that God can "materialize" (so to speak) in our world. They are how He reveals Himself to us, how God "touches"us, if you will. How do you respond to God's touch? I'm going to be referring to God's touch as His conviction, His calling us to a better place, and His pointing out what the issue is. I would like to suggest that there are three ways that we can respond to God's touch: as a sea urchin, a sea anemone, or a jelly fish. Didn’t see that coming, huh?
All three of those magnificent sea creatures respond differently to touch. Now, I'm no Marine Biologist, so let's just use elementary level understanding of these creatures to best illustrate our point here, deal? Sea urchins are known for releasing their spines, which contain venom, when they are touched, stepped on, or otherwise feel they are in danger. Sea anemones can sting smaller fish and creatures but are very well known in tide pools and aquariums around the world for shrinking back and "shriveling" when they are touched by humans. And, while no one would volunteer to touch the many types of jellyfish due to their stinging nature, they can, in many ways, be touched, nearly penetrated, and have their form change shape around your finger. They are very "jelly-like", hence the name. Ok, now you’ve been briefed on marine biology! Using these examples as word pictures, let's dive in (can't resist a good pun) to how they have shown up in the Bible and how we can apply it practically. Sea Urchin: A sea urchin's reaction to touch is very proactive. It will actively defend itself upon contact by essentially "hitting back", trying to stick you with one of it's venom-filled spines. It wants to hurt you. It's defiant, in a way. There are many examples of people in the Bible who, when approached by God, acted in a very proactive and adamant way in defending themselves against God. God was not bullying them or picking on them, He was trying to reveal their sin to and call them to repentance. Their reactions were defiant and poisonous, rather than humble and moldable. 1. Cain. One biblical example of this response is Cain. Cain is infamously known as the "first murderer" in the Bible. He murders his own brother, Abel, out of jealousy and hatred! Once he had finished the deed, God "meets" with Cain and asks him where his brother is. God was trying to get Cain to repent, He already knew where Abel was and I assume He knew that Cain knew too. Cain's notorious reply? "I don't know. Am I my brother's keeper?" Cain must have known why God was asking him this, he must have assumed God already knew, but his reply was damning. Instead of repenting, he decides to fight back using a snarky remark! God proceeds to punish him and give him grace when Cain complains that his punishment is too much to bear. Even after God promises to protect him, there is no recorded evidence that Cain ever repented. He will always be remembered for murdering his brother out of spite and then talking back to God, rather than repenting. 2. Israelites I know, such a broad example, but it is too great to ignore. The Israelites are such a classic example of active defiance against the Lord. For years and years and years God bears with them, trying to hold them to a higher standard, trying to fulfill His covenant with them, longing for them to repent. And what do they do? They curse Him constantly! They whine and bemoan, longing to go back to where they came from, lusting after the idolatrous cultures around them, practically begging for compromise in their laws. God constantly asks them to just repent but they often will not, instead, during their consequences to their sin, they disobey even more! They also treated the prophets that God sent to convict them horribly, even killing them! Sea Anemone: When I think of sea anemones, I think of how fun it was as a child to poke them. One by one, their tentacles retract and sometimes, after that, they curled their whole “body” all the way up. I think I always knew that they were scared and were trying to defend themselves, but they did it in such a gentle and passive way that they never scared me or seemed like they were a defensive creature. An opposite reaction to sea urchins, sea anemones retract and "hide" their vulnerability. The same could be said of other creatures of the ocean that have camouflaging capabilities. The sea anemone seems unique in comparison in that it doesn't typically react until it's been touched. There are similar stories in the bible of people retracting, hiding, or running away from God. 1. Adam and Eve Yes, their family had some issues. Of course, most well known for being the first sinners of the earth, their follow up to their sin was also quite notable: They hid! Realizing that they had disobeyed God and that they were no longer the same (and- ahem, naked!), they hid from God! Never mind the fact that they thought they could hide from God in the first place, but that after they were found, they still tried to hide the fact that each of them had sinned by trying to remove the blame from themselves and put it on to others (Eve and the serpent)! Obviously, no matter their response, whether it be hiding, cursing God or repenting, the world would have forever been impacted by their sin. But hiding from God certainly cannot work since it will only take a moment to find you. And when He finds you, you will be held accountable! Jeremiah 17:10, "I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve." If He can search our minds and hearts, surely there is no way to hide our sin and our wrong motives from Him. 2. Jonah We couldn't have a story about running and hiding without mentioning Jonah. Yes, he ultimately repented and went to Ninevah, where he pouted once they repented, but at first he tried to run from God! God gave him such a specific command and Jonah heard it loud and clear and then decided to go somewhere else, thinking he could hide from God! Have we ever done that? Jonah is different than a sea urchin in that he didn't verbally defy God or curse Him, instead, he passively defied Him and ran away like a coward! 3. Saul King Saul is a tricky one, he has sea urchin and sea anemone traits. Mostly, he ignores God's commands and doesn't see what the issue is! Like waiting for Samuel. He waited for what he thought was long enough, but in reality he disobeyed. He “almost” obeyed Samuel’s command. He didn't really see the issue with it at first. Also, He was ordered to kill the Amalekites entirely, but he spared their king! He only “partially” obeyed. But I think the biggest flaw of Saul is that he never allowed God's touch to actually change him entirely, he would always shrink back from His touch and refused to let himself be changed. Saul was always shown grace from David, even though David had been deeply wronged by Saul. Saul would repent for a moment but then his evil thoughts and hatred for David would stir up again and he would continue in his battle to destroy David. He never was able to follow through with his convictions, which, in my eyes, makes him more of a sea anemone. Jellyfish: Since I've never touched a jellyfish, I cannot say for certain if you can poke all the way inside one of them, but in my imagination, I definitely can. At the very least, a jelly fish can be poked and molded in some way as they are very flexible, mold-able, and jelly-like. While jellyfish do sting in some defense, they have very vulnerable bodies. They are very exposed and easy to penetrate. They do not have thick skin and huge amounts of blubber like whales that would make it hard to penetrate. There are some notable people in the Bible that allowed themselves to be vulnerable, and touched by God in such a way that He was able to penetrate their very being and change their form. This should always be our approach to God's touch. 1. King David Yes, he committed a great sin against the Lord, Uriah, Bathsheba, and his kingdom, but David is also know for his extreme humility and deep,deep repentance. He fell hard but he repented harder. He mourned and wailed, cried out to God, and pleaded for God to forgive Him. He wanted to be changed by God and be righteous in God's sight. That was his number one concern. His many psalms are his diary to the Lord about his sins, his repentance, his joy in the Lord, and God's faithfulness. David was truly a changed and restored man. 2. Saul (Paul) A different, yet equally notorious, Saul, from the New Testament has the most famous conversion story of the Bible. He heavily persecuted the church and approved of Christians being executed. He was working hard to oppose the work of Christ in every way. But, we all know the story, he was met by Jesus on the road to Damascus and Jesus asked Saul why he was persecuting Him. Instead of lashing out at Jesus or fleeing from Him, he asked Jesus who He was and what he must do next. That should be our response to Jesus' touch, "Who are You, Jesus and what would You have me do?" Saul became entirely new; he became a leader and servant to the church that he once persecuted. What is your response to God's touch? Do you reply with defensive mechanisms, anger, and snarky words? Do you try and hide and pretend that you have done nothing wrong and have no need for repentance? Or do you humble yourself before the Lord and let Him change you and touch you? I hope you choose to let God touch you and show you the way to go so you can be changed forever.
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About Me:Hello! I'm Roxy. Enjoy reading my thoughts as I strive to understand God's character and truth and admonish it faithfully to His church. Please email at [email protected] with inquiries. Archives
September 2018
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