As a Christian, what would be the worst thing that could happen to you? Would it be to face a serious trial? Would it be to not face any trials? Would it be loss of family or friends – either physically or spiritually? What is the worst thing that could happen to you? Physically speaking, one of the worst things a person could face would be to be completely isolated from human contact.
FROM: eHow.com – article: Do People Need Human Touch? In the 1940s, Dr. Rene Spitz was left perplexed as to why babies under his care were dying despite being given the proper nutrition and sterile surroundings. In that South American orphanage, Spitz observed and recorded what happened to 97 children who were deprived of emotional and physical contact with others. Because of a lack of funds, there was not enough staff to adequately care for these children, ages 3 months to 3 years old. Nurses changed diapers and fed and bathed the children. But there was little time to hold, cuddle, and talk to them as a mother would. After three months many of them showed signs of abnormality. Besides a loss of appetite and being unable to sleep well, many of the children lay with a vacant expression in their eyes. After five months, serious deterioration set in. They lay whimpering, with troubled and twisted faces. Often, when a doctor or nurse would pick up an infant, it would scream in terror. Twenty seven, almost one third, of the children died the first year, but not from lack of food or health care. They died of a lack of touch and emotional nurture. Because of this, seven more died the second year. Only twenty one of the 97 survived, most suffering serious psychological damage. Decades before this, reports had also surfaced of babies dying in orphanages in the U.S. for inexplicable reasons. These incidents triggered extensive studies that later gave birth to American psychologist Harry Harlow's verdict: The babies died from lack of touch. Why do we need human touch?
Research done by British scientist John Bowlby and his American colleague Mary Salter Ainsworth concluded that babies who do not receive the nurturing touch – if they survive – traverse adolescence depressed, anxious, angry and unhappy. As babies coming out into a strange world with underdeveloped senses except for our sense of touch, we all have initially made sense of our surroundings through our skins. Affectionate touch told us that the world is a safe, secure and warm place to live in. Touch comforted us; resulting in less stress, less crying, more sleep, and generally, a physically and mentally healthier infant geared for life's challenges. Human beings crave contact. We gravitate to cities, to social events, to being married and the like, in part because God wired us to be social creatures. (Prison visits: One of the toughest sentences in prison is to be given isolation.) In light of what I just covered, I find it a sad irony that so much of our modern culture is so isolating or separating –
• Our entertainment is generally geared for an individual, not a group • Lifestyles are generally individual based, not on a family or community level
• Our national politics are polarized because the causes being championed are selfish, as opposed to sacrificial for the national good
• Etc. Today I am going to talk a bit about separation – specifically separation between us and God. As we consider this point of separation from God, let’s begin by asking the question, “Where did this separation start?” Gen. 3:1-7 – we will choose for ourselves Whether they realized it or not, what Adam and Eve said to God is, “We don’t believe you, so we will determine what is best for us.” Amos 3:3 – two cannot walk together Who moved? (touch) Isaiah 59:1-2 God’s hand is not shortened and He is not deaf – what does that mean? In modern terms, people are asking – where is God? Modern Christianity, as it is generally taught, is very one-sided. People believe that as long as they go to church, as long as they believe they are trying to do good, as long as they are acknowledging God at Christmas and Easter then they are good Christians and they are “saved.” They can use profane language, they can cheat on their income taxes, they can do whatever they want on the Sabbath (even if they believe the Sabbath is Sunday), they can fail to train, discipline and teach their children and ignore most of God’s instruction in the Bible – because now they have “Love.” They consider all of this is OK as long as they call themselves Christian. Rom. 1:28-32 – did not retain God in their knowledge (touch)
John 9:31 – God doesn’t hear sinners (qualify this statement) Individuals have separated themselves from God and don’t even realize it. People go their own ways and yet expect God to be obligated to His end of the relationship. Does that even seem reasonable to you? It seems obvious to me that isn’t a good relationship – or an equitable one. But let’s ask a question here: why should mankind think that God would save them during times of trouble if they turn their backs to Him at all other times? Love is taught in the churches of this land, but is as much time given to the cost (the price) of sin? Is God obligated to forgive sin if there is no desire on man’s part to change from sinning? Is God obligated to bless people if they ignore Him? The inference in mainstream Christianity is yes, God should forgive and bless in spite of sin – isn’t that why Christ died for us? That is what sin does in our relationship with God – it begins to separate us. In small ways at first and in big ways later if we continue in sin – then we would be no different from the modern Christians I described earlier.
Romans 8:35-39 – who shall separate us Only we can separate ourselves from God. Sin is the tool Satan uses to help us separate ourselves from God. Only each of us individually can nurture the desire to not be separated from God. How much do we desire to not be separated from God? (touch) When we annually go through the process of examining ourselves prior to Passover, we often times become depressed. We see our sins before God and see the separation that sin causes. But, we can forget that those sins have been forgiven upon repentance. The process of examination is mindful of the impact of sin without living in that sin. Romans 3:23 – all have sinned A major point that is lost to most who only accept the sacrifice of Christ without changing is this: since Christ did die to pay the price of our sins, what should we be doing to honor that sacrifice? So what should we do so that we are not isolated, so that we can feel the touch of God in our lives?
1 Tim. 4:6-16 – defenses against dangers 2 Pet. 1:2-8 – knowledge of God Picture yourself wearing a hazmat suit. As long as the integrity of that suit is complete, you can move about in dangerous circumstances without being contaminated. Remove the suit, or compromise its integrity, and you will become contaminated. God’s Holy Spirit does not isolate us from sin, but it does insulated us from sin. We still must live in a world filled with sin, separated from God, without taking on that sin. (touch) The woman caught in adultery John 8:11 – go and sin no more As much as humans crave interaction, we are probably the most isolated or separated society in mankind’s history. That is of our choosing with all of our invented distractions. It is up to us as to whether we are separated from God. Let’s not be separated. If we truly yield to God and use the power of His Holy Spirit to remove sin from our lives, we will never be separated from God.
