The Bible records so many different "touching" experiences.

In the garden of Eden, for instance, Eve is warned not only against eating the forbidden fruit but against even touching it! Old Testament writers cautioned against touching "unclean" things. Christ Jesus reached out and touched people who were shunned by others. A woman seeking healing touched Jesus' garment. Immediately following his resurrection, Jesus asked Mary not to touch him.

Touching. A subject of importance in the Bible. Some would say of even more importance today.

Millions may be so profoundly touched by human suffering displayed on television screens after a natural disaster that a huge outpouring of aid and prayers results. In a wholly different context, millions stay glued to their television sets, viewing debates over charges of sexual harassment that may have stemmed from physical touching. Still millions of others feel comforted by a gentle touch meant to console and show genuine affection. Even a major telephone company calls on its customers to "reach out and touch someone."

Yes, the subject always has been, and still is, much in public thought. But what significance does such a subject have for you? Why should you give thought to it?

Like the other physical senses, the sense of touch can suffer invasion. Any time our lives seem vulnerable, we should give special thought to how we can best shelter ourselves. While we may feel touched in a way that brings forth noble ideals, this same sense may at another moment feel violated, repulsed. Our protection lies in the discovery that such senses as seeing, hearing, touching, do have an invulnerable, spiritual base. They are derived from a God who has created His off-spring perfect. Discerning more of this truth of man, we'll find ourselves less often exposed to the possibility of a negative experience and more often blessed by a positive one.

For instance, Christian Science insists that if we actively accept everyone's true vision to be spiritual, having its origin in Soul, God, we are likely to find ourselves perceived by others in a more wholesome, constructive way. Similarly, if we are willing to acknowledge more consistently that the sense of touch actually stems from the purity of Soul, we'll find ourselves increasingly responsive to the way God's touch is reaching into our lives, affecting how we think and act.

Yes, we can begin to feel more of a permanent and healing touch delivered by divine Love. This is a constant divine presence that tenderly emerges in our innermost thoughts and spiritually renews us, whatever the circumstances we face. It gives us a sense of peace, an assurance of God's ever-present goodness, and perhaps most of all, it instills a feeling of love that is flavored with healing power. There is something truly holy about feeling such a touch. How can we receive more of it? By praying for it. Even by simply and humbly acknowledging that such a presence does exist and can reach us.

We may need to defend ourselves if the world's view of touch has left us feeling violated. Perhaps a tragedy or disaster of some sort claims to have left its mark on us. Or a bruising controversy has scarred us. Or an abusive physical encounter keeps replaying itself in thought.

The Bible comforts us with an assurance that man is sheltered in God's love, that we are all His cherished children, that we are born of Him. St. John reminds us, "We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not." We can keep ourselves so responsive to God's love that no evil can pass through our mental doorway.

The more vigorously we challenge a wrongful intruder, the freer we are from its aggressive efforts to impose on us. And the more we welcome in the gentle touch of divine Love, the more we feel its redeeming effect and its ability to instill deep and lasting affections.

I recall once working on a project that brought me into close contact with the details of Mary Baker Eddy's life. Over those several years I experienced such a wide variety of feelings. Admiration. Amazement. Gratitude. Inspiration. But perhaps most of all, love.

Late one night, as I pondered this woman's great courage, sacrifice, and persistence in writing Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, I was deeply moved by a comment she made later in life when given a copy of the First Edition of this book. She explained that no one would ever know what it had cost her to write that book. I was so profoundly touched that I think, for a moment, I did glimpse what that cost must have been. In that moment the symptoms of a physical problem I had struggled over for some time just disappeared.

Perhaps that incident can best be described by something Mrs. Eddy herself penned in Miscellaneous Writings about being touched, about angels, about love: "When angels visit us," she explains, "we do not hear the rustle of wings, nor feel the feathery touch of the breast of a dove; but we know their presence by the love they create in our hearts. Oh, may you feel this touch,—it is not the clasping of hands, nor a loved person present; it is more than this: it is a spiritual idea that lights your path!"

All of us can afford to give more thought to feeling the touch of angels, of Christ bringing the message of God's love. We'll find that this touch deepens our affections, increases our forgiveness and compassion, strengthens our ability to love. It will heal you.

Nathan A. Talbot