'For God so loved the World that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.'John 3:16
He Touched Me. The first time I heard this song was in 1982, twenty years after it was first written. I was sitting on the floor of the Preservation Hall in New Orleans, Louisiana. This is a very famous place to listen to Jazz music for free, a small crowded shop house near Bourbon Street where jazz musicians would gather each night to play. A tall bearded Negro stood up and with his banjo played this song. I sat there enrapt by its plain lyrics and simple rhythm. It became my favourite Christian song.
This is a song about salvation. Salvation is the greatest event in the Christian life; it marks the start of it. I was saved in 1967. I distinctly remembered that day after school, I attended a Youth for Christ meeting at Wesley Methodist Church. I had been searching for a belief in a God whom I could relate to. Before this time I had either been exposed to ancestral worship at home or brought in front of idols in Chinese temples. I did not find any meaning in that kind of worship or belief.
At the end of the YFC meeting, a person named Charlie Tan whom I have not met again since, introduced me to Jesus Christ, telling me that through Christ, I can be saved from my sins. More importantly, I could be restored into a rightful relationship with Christ. That day, I accepted Christ as my personal Saviour and have not looked back since; for the rest of my life, which is now going on towards 70 years and beyond. That day Jesus touched me.
I did not know it then but this song, He Touched Me, encapsulates the experience of my Christian life:
Shackled by a heavy burden,
'Neath a load of guilt and shame.
Then the hand of Jesus touched me,
And now I am no longer the same.
He touched me, Oh He touched me,
And oh the joy that floods my soul!
Something happened and now I know,
He touched me and made me whole.
Since I met this blessed Saviour,
Since He cleansed and made me whole,
I will never cease to praise Him,
I'll shout it while eternity rolls.
He touched me.......
The touch of Jesus put me on the path of developing a relationship with God. Up to that time, original sin and my own sins got me shackled and imprisoned. Oscar Wilde (Ref 1) wrote:
... And thus we rust Life's iron chain
Degraded and alone:
And some men cursed and some men weep,
And some men make no moan
But God's eternal Laws are kind
And breaks the heart of stone.
And every human heart that breaks,
In prison cell or yard,
Is as that broken box that gave
Its treasure to the Lord,
And filled the unclean leper's house
With the scent of the costliest nard.
Ah! happy those whose hearts can break
And peace of pardon win!
How else may man make straight his plan
And cleanse his soul from Sin?
How else but through a broken heart
May Lord Christ enter in?
We speak of the salvation we received as a touch from the Lord but we should not presume that it was so simple nor cheap. Salvation is free to us but it is costly to God. It costs God his only begotten Son.
The late Rev Billy Graham was the most effective evangelist that ever lived. He preached salvation. But he did not make it sound easy even though miracles happen when he gave the invitation to receive Christ as millions came forward. He preached God's plan for all of us to be saved and pointed out what needed to happen:
1. All are sinners and stand under the judgement of God. 'For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.' Romans 3:23. Graham said that we might believe that we are good enough to win God's favour or that we can perform certain religious acts to counterbalance our bad deeds but 'There is no one righteous, not even one.' Romans 3:10
2. We need to understand what Christ has done to make our salvation possible. Christ died on the cross as the complete sacrifice for our sins. He took upon Himself the judgement that we deserve.
3. We must repent of our sins. Graham said repentance carries with it the idea of confession, sorrow, turning and changing, God's gift of eternal life becomes ours only when we take it. We must turn from our practice of sin as best we know how and turn by faith to Christ.
4. There is a cost of coming to Christ and following Christ. A person must determine to leave his sins behind and turn from them. Jesus declared, "if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me." Luke 9:23. Graham preached, it costs to follow Christ but it also costs not to follow Christ.
5. Salvation is intimately linked to the cross. Graham asked, "Why was Calvary's cross so special, so different from hundreds of other crosses used for Roman execution?" It was because on that cross, Jesus suffered the punishment for sin that we all deserve. He was our Substitute. He suffered the judgment and condemnation of death that our sinful nature and deeds rightfully deserve.
6. Faith is essential for salvation. We must be absolutely clear on what we mean when we speak of 'salvation by faith.' Faith means more than intellectual belief. It involves trust and commitment in which we commit our lives to Jesus and trust Him alone as our Saviour and Lord.
After Billy Graham preached millions came forward singing the song, 'Just as I am' which means asking Jesus to receive them, heal them of their sins and lead them to everlasting life. Perhaps many were just overcame by the emotions of the moment but many others knew not only in their minds but in their hearts and spirits what they were doing. They were determining their fates from that day forward. That was when Jesus touched our lives and we never looked back since.
Lionel
Ref 1: Oscar Wilde, The Ballad of Reading Gaol. 1868
