A Touch of Love

Mark 1:32

 

32At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.

 

 

Jesus often visited the sick and those cast out by society to give them a healing touch. He went to those who were on the outskirts of the city because their diseased bodies were not to be looked upon. Jesus didn't always have to touch them to heal them but could also speak a word which would heal. Jesus, the epitome of compassion went among the sick and shut out, church now calls them shut in. Jesus is the role model of what service to others is to look like.

 

In the early 1990s, the state of Maryland instituted new requirements for high school graduation. These new requirements demanded a certain number of hours of community service. My eleventh grade history teacher was in charge of the community service efforts. He took a group of us to a nearby nursing home. Once the community service was complete, many of the students did not continue on at the nursing home. I continued even through the change of management and up into my sophomore year of college before taking on a part-time job in addition to the full course load. I met a woman there who was 95 years old and blind. She was feisty at first and I didn't think she liked me but actually, she was a sweet woman. I was so amazed at how well she got around without the ability to see. For the first time, I began to appreciate my own eye sight and wearing glasses. A friend or two would visit her once in while and her son. I also spent time with a much younger woman. She was in her 40s. Her multiple sclerosis had escalated after the beatings from her ex-husband and she was wheelchair bound. She had family that came to see her regularly and brought her things. She loved to talk but she also loved to have her hair brushed. So I would often brush her long flowing blond hair as it was soothing for her. I saw many others weekly. For some, I was the only visitor they had. It broke my heart that their families forgot about them once they were shoved into a little corner of the world. Do you have family in a nursing home facility? When was the last time you called them to let them know you were thinking of them? You would be surprised how comforting it is for them to know someone is thinking of them. Some heal quickly that way. A touch of love, in any form helps those who feel left out.

 

Real service is not about meeting some quota or requirement, not about notches to make your organization look more legit than others, nor about disguising for government dollars. Real service, no matter what form, at its core is about love. The same love Jesus displayed as He walked among the sick and shut out. A smiling face and genuine heart has the ability to heal another heart more than you could ever imagine.