The Human Touch

“My companions led me by the hand…”

Acts 22:10

The riots sparked by Paul’s enemies at the end of Acts 21 occurred in AD 57. In Acts 22:1-29, after order was restored by Roman troops and the crowd silenced to hear Paul, he witnessed his encounter with Jesus Christ, his healing and salvation, and his sole purpose for living.

Interestingly, Paul chose a non-confrontational approach; he told his story instead. A testimony about his personal experience with Jesus Christ and the humane treatment he received from others during his conversion and salvation. Paul used his life’s stories as a witness to a tense crowd where Paul shared the horror of his past and how devastating sin is, God’s divine invasion into his present, and his future commanded by God to share his life and the life of Christ with all people.[1]

Personal stories.

The human touch.

Man, in this weary time of masked faces and cautious encounters, we need to hold onto our once firm grasp of sharing our lives and our stories (the good and the bad) at the personal level — the human touch. And avoid slouching forward with fearful perspectives and extended isolation away from friends, family, and church community.

In the movie Australia, Hugh Jackman is a rugged cowboy from the Outback of Australia. Nicole Kidman is a widow living on an Outback ranch. She looks at Jackman and his backwoods, filthy appearance with contempt. Jackman is aware of it and says, “Most people like their land, luggage, other people. All that makes them feel secure but in the end all that can be taken away. In the end, the only thing we own is our story; I’m just trying to live a good one.”

What stories do you own and that you have lived that can be shared as a witness for your faith, Jesus Christ, and what He has done in your life? Stories advance our human touch and bridge-building to heal the wounds and weariness of this evil pandemic.

When Walt Disney started working on full-length animation, he invented storyboarding, which is now used extensively in films. It was groundbreaking. It is where the story is sketched before filming begins. If you portrayed your life on storyboards, I bet the etchings depict a kaleidoscope of the human experiences of highs and lows, the good and the bad, the smooth and the difficult. And, as Paul did in Acts 22, you can use your storyboards as opportunities to testify from your heart with the Holy Spirit’s help. Stories from the heart are desperately needed where the human touch fades and hearts harden as this pandemic and its impact lingers on.

Fast forward three years, Paul is imprisoned in Rome writing to the Christians in Ephesus. The city of Ephesus was awash in paganism and negative lifestyles influenced by worldly drifters that traveled its many Roman trade routes intersecting into the city. I can’t help but think Paul is reflecting on his encounters in such cultures and the events at the Temple in Acts 22 when he writes in Ephesians 5:14-17: “Awake, you who sleep / Arise from the dead / And Christ will give you light… So be careful how you live… Take full advantage of every day as you spend your life for His purposes.” [blended translations]

Paul didn’t care whether his testimony crashed and burned. It didn’t deter him from spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ and His salvation through his testimony. It didn’t stop him from sharing his personal stories. It didn’t stop him from offering a human touch during difficult and divisive times.

We, too, need to Arise and Awake and take full advantage of every day God has given us and follow Ananias’ encouragement for Paul to get baptized [v.16], which Paul shared with the crowd: “And now why are you waiting? Arise…”

Please share your personal stories as a witness for Jesus Christ. He is the light of hope and salvation for all people.  Extend a human touch.

-Dan Nickel

[1]Eugene Peterson, The Message Devotional Bible [NavPress, Colorado Springs, 2018], 1290.