[size=25pt]My Personal Space[/size]

By C. P. Hia

Luke 8:40-48 [size=15pt]And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him. 41. And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus' feet, and besought him that he would come into his house: 42. For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him.
43. And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, 44. Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched. 45. And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
46. And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. 47. And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him and how she was healed immediately. 48. And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.[/size]
We do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses. Hebrews 4:15


[size=30pt]A[/size][size=18pt]n industrial design graduate from a Singapore university was challenged in a workshop to come up with a novel solution to a common problem using only ordinary objects. She created a vest to protect one’s personal space from being invaded while traveling in the crush of crowded public trains and buses. The vest was covered with long, flexible plastic spikes normally used to keep birds and cats away from plants.

Jesus knew what it was like to lose His personal space in the commotion of crowds desperate to see and touch Him. A woman who had suffered from constant bleeding for 12 years and could find no cure touched the fringe of His robe. Immediately, her bleeding stopped (Luke 8:43-44).

Jesus’ question, “Who touched me?” (v. 45) isn’t as strange as it sounds. He felt power come out of Him (v. 46). That touch was different from those who merely happened to accidentally touch Him.

While we must admit that we do sometimes wish to keep our personal space and privacy, the only way we help a world of hurting people is to let them get close enough to be touched by the encouragement, comfort, and grace of Christ in us.

Lord Jesus, I want to be near You and know You so that when I’m in contact with others they can see You through me.
A Christian’s life is the window through which others can see Jesus.


*This Bible passage of Luke recounts several miracles in quick succession. First, Jesus calms a storm while out in a boat on the sea (Luke 8:22–25). Then when the boat reaches the other side of the sea, Jesus heals a man possessed by demons (vv. 26–39). Finally, Luke records that while going to heal the daughter of Jairus, a synagogue leader, Jesus heals a woman who had been suffering from bleeding for years (vv. 40–48). In the end, Jesus brings Jairus’s daughter back to life (vv. 48–56). This series of miracles shows that nothing—nature, spirits, health, even life and death—is outside of Jesus’s power and authority.[/size]