He who touches you touches the apple of his eye.

Zechariah  2:8  RSV

In the jostle and complexity of modern life it is easy to be deeply hurt or to cause pain to someone else, sometimes unintentionally, but often with a he-deserves-it attitude.  We take our frustrations out on those we love the most.  How God must cringe at our sarcastic barbs, our loaded slams, which in reality stem from envious and jealous hearts.  These acts wound Him who is infinite love.


How can we, in the spirit of Christ, handle these deep hurts when they come our way, without becoming bitter, resentful, or calloused?  Here is another practical suggestion my typist shared with me from Thought From the Mount of Blessing page 71:
"The Father's presence encircles Christ, and nothing befell Him but that which infinite love permitted for the blessing of the world."  As she read this, she thought, So that explains why Christ could take so much.  I could too if - and then she continued reading:  "Here was His source of comfort, and it is for us.  He who is imbued with the Spirit of Christ abides in Christ.  The blow that is aimed at him falls upon the Saviour, who surrounds him with His presence.  Whatever comes to him comes from Christ.  He has no need to resist evil, for Christ is his defense.  Nothing can touch him except by our Lord's permission."  She told how she woke up as if from a dream.  She read it over and over, using "me" in place of "him."  "The blow that is aimed at me falls upon my Saviour."  All at once she grasped how this could work in her own life.  And it did.  The more she used it the more excited she became - she had found Christ's secret of serenity in trial!  All she had to do was be sure she was abiding in Christ, that her relationship with Him was intact.  Now when someone figuratively "beats" her, she is able to counter it in a safe way:  "Lord, here is an opportunity to reflect Your image.  Please help me not to fail and become defensive.  You are my defense.  You are actually surrounding me!  He thinks he's hurting me, Lord, but he doesn't know the blow is really falling on You and isn't even touching me!  Thank You, Jesus."

taken from: First Things First
                      September 7
                 by: Bob Spangler