Going Deeper - 1 John 1:1

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm in the process of meditating on and memorizing the book of 1 John this summer.  Thankfully, my mentor is not only keeping me accountable, but is teaching me and is revealing some of the more subtle aspects of this book.

This week, we were able to talk about some of the language used in 1 John 1.  In the first verse John writes, "That which was from the beginning which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and our hands have handled of the word of life" (emphasis added).  The word "handled" used in this verse appears only twice in the New Testament.  The other instance is in Luke 24:39 when Jesus appears to his disciples after the resurrection and says, "..handle me..."  The Greek is ψηλαφάω, pselaphao (psay-laf-ah'-o), meaning: to feel, to manipulate, i.e. verify by contact. John was passionately trying to describe to the young believers how real and alive Christ was after the resurrection, and that he had seen him and had handled him... Jesus was flesh and blood, not a spirit or a ghost.

I think it's beautiful how John uses Jesus' exact words to describe to others the truth that Christ is alive.  He could have simply said, "trust me, I've seen Him."  But no, not only had he seen Him, he had touched Him, had handled him.  Just think about this for a moment: Can you imagine touching God incarnate?  Feeling Him? Hearing the resonance of His voice?  Sensing the warmth of His skin and hearing His heartbeat when you hug Him?  John had.  And his desire was to encourage and strengthen the faith of the new believers he was writing to who hadn't had that opportunity. 

Another wonderful thing about this is that John is also writing to us.  Not only does this verse encourage us in faith of Christ's resurrection, but also in those moments when we feel distant from God.  Maybe you're having one of those days, or weeks, or months... or years.. when you know God is there--but you can't feel Him.  Your desire is to reach out and touch Him, handle Him, but you don't think He's there.  The truth is that He is there. And like in Luke 24:39, Christ is calling us to reach out and handle him, and see that he is there.  If only we will extend our hands.