Honouring God with our Senses - Part 2

Enjoyment of a good thing can become a bad thing when desire for it overtakes desire for God, or our desire for it turns into a demand. We can be easily persuaded that the 'best' thing to do, is to avoid it all-together.  But while that might appear to be the 'easiest' way to handle the risk of over-indulgence or wrong indulgence of our senses , it may not be the biblical or the 'best' way….. 

Now, I'm not advocating the deliberate courting of temptation, but I am concerned that I can easily employ my own 'system' of resisting temptation by an extreme 'pendulum swing' rather than relying on Christ to enable me to resist extremes.  

The 'best' thing is to work at keeping balance, at exercising self-control, at taking every thought captive and testing/discerning all of life.  But its also the hardest thing to do.

Another way of looking at this is that we very rarely put equal 'weight' on both ends of an issue - we tend to emphasise one over the other in the process of our 'over-reactionary pendulum swing'.  

We have to work hard to give equal 'weight' to each side - a bit like a perfectly matched tug of war that doesn't succeed in being pulled in either direction. The position is not idle or passive but equally active and strong on each end.  Shall we say: 'anti-sin' on one side, but equally 'pro-righteousness' on the other side. In life we find that very hard to do. 

Though it might be hard, it is the required reality for the great part of our Christian walk and I know it will also be the road to experiencing the most joy in what God wants us to experience, and if it is the right way, it is the choice for which we will have the strength of the Holy Spirit......so.....

Though our five senses may be avenues of temptation, before there was sin in this world, God graciously and lovingly gave us our senses as gifts  - and I want to ponder on each, one by one and take the time to enjoy the gifts God has given in our senses. Part of honouring God is worshipping Him with our thankfulness.   

Join with me in focusing on the blessing of our senses and rejoicing in God's wonderful love toward us - saying THANKYOU with me....for….

Sight

What a wonderful gift we have to be able to see.  Just ask someone who is blind.  We can see where to walk, we can see to make sure we choose clothes that match, we can see to operate machines, we can see to enjoy the beauty of flowers, animals, ocean views, electrical storms, brilliant sunrises, a baby's smile and a beautiful bride.  

It is so easy to take for granted the things we can see on a daily basis and the way God has lavishly and over abundantly coloured our world - He could have made it all grey!  Think how 'down' we get after a few days of 'grey weather', but imagine if in our whole life we only ever saw all of life in our world like a B&W photo. 

Scripture likens our salvation to the wonder that it would be to be blind and then to see!

Thank you Lord for SIGHT

Hearing

What a wonderful gift we have to be able to hear.  Just ask someone who is deaf.  We can hear a child's first words, we can hear the songs of birds or a beautiful choir or the rich sounds of a cello or bold sounds of a trumpet or the delicate sounds of an African thumb piano.  We can hear singing, clapping, running streams and pounding waves at the beach or the wind rustling through the leaves on the tree.  As I type I recall the 'thunder' of the sound of the water flowing over the mighty Victoria Falls.  

Hearing is so crucial to our ability to learn and communicate.  

God tells us that if we have ears to hear, we need to be taking time to 'hear' Him.  Scripture also tells us that it is through 'hearing' the gospel that we can be saved.

What can you add to the list....?

Thank you Lord for HEARING

Smell

But what a wonderful gift of smell we have been given. Maybe you don't know anyone who has lost their sense of smell - but it can happen.  It's hard to imagine a world in which there was no pleasant aroma - the smell of a rose, of a roast dinner cooking, of a freshly washed and powdered baby, of the freshness of sun-dried cotton bed sheets, of the wind blowing through the leaves of a lemon scented gum tree or a port wine magnolia bush or our jasmine, or as the leaf of a lavender bush is crushed, or the rind of a lemon is grated.  

I remember the time my husband had an inhalation burn when some gas exploded in a kitchen he was cooking in a few years ago and it damaged (thankfully only temporarily) his nasal passages and caused a loss of sense of smell - not good for a 'chef'! Aromas can make us feel physically sick/nauseous or make us feel relaxed or happy.  Aromatherapy is used in homes and hospitals, in shops and offices. 

God even tells us that our lives are an aroma - we can be a sweet smelling aroma to Him.  We can also be the aroma of life or death to those around us.

What can you add to the list...?

Thank you Lord for SMELL

Taste

How often when we give thanks for a meal do we thank God for the ability to taste it and thus enjoy it!  I remember hearing of someone who no longer had a sense of taste and how much of a horrible chore it was to eat!  God has given us tastebuds so we can actually enjoy the process of eating!  We can enjoy flavours and blends of flavours and have it spur us on to cook all the wonderful food God has given us on this earth, in endlessly creative ways.  Let's praise Him for the ability to taste a sweet cheesecake or a fresh apple or juicy mango or BBQ chicken or grilled steak or the rich sauce of Beef Strogonoff or the spice of an Indian curry or the  blend of flavours on a pizza or the tang of a grapefruit or the bitter delight of dark chocolate or the creaminess of ice-cream or the saltiness of hot chips.  

God uses this understanding of ours about taste to tells us to 'taste and see that the Lord is good'.

What can you add to the list...?

Thank you Lord for TASTE

Touch

What a wonderful gift we have been given with the sense of touch - just ask someone who has leprosy or has been in solitary confinement.  We can touch a starfish at a marine park or pat a dog or stroke a kitten or knead dough,  or feel the warmth of a bath, the holding of a hand or the pat on the back from a friend.  We can feel the softness of a newborn baby's skin or the prickles of a pineapple or wet sand between our toes at the beach or the rough bark of a tree. Touch is also an interesting sense in that is seems to have an extra dimension to it - an emotional and physical well-being dimension. 

Something like massage can actually have physically positive effects on our health and it has been shown that a person's physical well-being is better when they are touched - such that it is ensured that even prematurely born babies now are given as much touch as possible and people in old age homes, cancer and dementia patients have been known to do much better when they can enjoy touch, whether its a hug or patting a dog. I have even found personally with my POTS issues that a gentle stroking touch can lower my heart rate.  

Touch is also the only sense which is enjoyed over the entire body - all the other senses have their 'receptor' on the head/face.

The sense of touch can definitely also be a very real means of protection as it is through touch that we know if something is so hot that it will burn us or too sharp that it will cut us. Linked to the sense of touch is also the sense of pain. (Doctor to leprosy patients Dr Paul Brand once wrote a book   'The Gift of Pain', because we can suffer major damage when we can't feel pain)  

But also linked to the sense of touch is the sense of pleasure.  Touch as a hug or cuddle or squeeze or grasp of the hand or arm around the shoulder can communicate volumes of love to another person, and be received as strong communication from another person. God made us to enjoy, give and receive touch from each other, although of course in appropriate ways that will differ from whether its from a spouse or a parent to a friend or an acquaintance or a stranger.  But none-the-less touch is not something to avoid but to embrace (no pun intended!) 

Jesus' ministry was full of 'touch' and leaves us with an example to follow - especially touching those who the world considered 'untouchable' and blessing them with love and compassion, and the honour of acceptance and love.  

What can you add to the list....?

Thank you Lord for TOUCH.

What an amazing God we have who has blessed us so wonderfully by giving us these five senses to enjoy the world He has given, and give us even greater cause to praise and honour Him!!