"And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them."

I was reading in the book of Mark this morning, chapter ten in particular, and ran across verse 13. The disciples were keeping the little kids away from Jesus and he busted them on it. Instead of telling the little children to go off and play somewhere else, Jesus took them in His arms. And he loved them.

I look at verse 16, "And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them." At first, I imagined Jesus doing some sort of official "laying on of hands" type thing. You know... one at a time, touching their heads, praying intently- like you see at special services at church. I couldn't see Him doing a slam-bam Benny Hinn style but it was still a formal "laying on of hands".

But was it?

Instead, I let my mind imagine the Jesus of compassion I know, the Jesus who loves purely and unconditionally. And the Jesus who wants kids to be kids. I have a feeling this verse may be describing Jesus just loving on these kids, inviting them to crawl all over Him, and holding them close.

His "laying on of hands" may have been more a cuddle than a ceremony. I can easily imagine Him as a snuggler, holding kids close to His chest. What could bring peace to a kid faster than to be held, to experience the warmth of His embrace and to feel His running fingers through their hair? To lay their head on His chest and hear His heartbeat, soothing and never stopping. Boy, that paints a picture of peace to me!

I can imagine His hand on their backs as they tried to tell Him about something in their lives. I remember being a kid and having an adult actually want to listen to me. I'd get nervous and stammer about, repeated my words and struggling to get a complete thought out. All of a sudden, the spotlight was on me and I couldn't come up with any words. I can see the same for those kids until Jesus put His hand on their backs and whispered "It's OK, just tell Me what's on your heart. I want to hear what you have to say."

Imagine what that did to a kid's self image? I can feel courage welling up inside of these kids in the story.

Jesus and I have one thing in common. We never had kids. And when I was in my early 30's, the same age as Jesus when he was loving on those kids described in Mark 10, I had lots of friends having kids. I enjoyed being "Uncle Todd" to these children. I loved having them crawl all over me and enjoyed listening intently to their stories. I especially loved it when they'd fall asleep on my chest as I stroked their hair and rubbed their backs. The kids didn't remember it a week later but I sure did. Those are precious memories.

Growing up in the '60s and early '70s, I still remember a teacher's touch. Back when I was in school it was common to see a teacher hugging a kid who may have gotten struck by a stray kickball or disappointed about getting knocked out of the spelling bee over a really easy word. I remember teachers giving us hugs when we did something great and can still feel their steadying hand on my back as they stood to next to my desk as I struggled to understand multiplication and division.

Sadly, we don't have much of that these days. After the McMartin Daycare trial of the early '80s where they discovered workers molesting children and so many horrible reports of sexual abuse of children, touching fell out of favor.Teachers are careful to avoid physical contact of any type. I got married in '93 and inherited a pre-teen step daughter. Although we were extremely close, I felt inhibited in showing her much physical affection. I knew what was in my heart but that's not what mattered. How she perceived it was what counted. And I couldn't risk doing anything that might be taken as improper.

Sadly, sin got in the way. One end result is kids grow up starved for physical contact. It's easy to see how young people, starved for affection, get their desires met in unhealthy ways.

I remember when guys hugging was just unheard of in public. As I recall, John Denver seemed to start it all back in the early '70s. He'd come on the Johnny Carson Show and the silver haired host would extend his hand for a shake and the shaggy haired musician would give him a big bear hug instead. Back then, I was a young Christian and us "brothers in the Lord" would hug as a greeting. Not quite "greet your brethren with a holy kiss" stuff, but hearty hugs between guys as well as with the girls. Nowadays, it's fairly common to see guys hug. And I see that as a good thing. But, it's still just a momentary greeting.

One of my favorite memories with my grandmother was when she was in her 90's (she's 99 1/2 now) and was staying with my aunt and uncle in Benton. They went out to a Christmas party and left my grandmother and me piled up on their king size bed watching TV. Pauline and I sat there and talked more than watched. We held hands and just spent time together.

I love praying with friends. In most cases, we hold hands as we pray. It is common to hold hands as family and friends say grace over a meal. Even now, I'm sitting in my bed with my back propped up on a pile of pillows. My 15 year old dachshund is glued to my left hip. She likes physical contact. Me, too. There's something about touch. So, where do we strike a balance?

It seems to me sin has gotten in and messed things up. Too often, physical touch has a sexual overtone to it. It's either part of a planned conquest or part of some perverted molestation. Rarely just touch for the sake of sincere affection. But I still long for it.

So, what is the message I'm trying to get across? Not much, really. I just want to celebrate the healing power of touch and to encourage more of it. Not in order to "get" anything but rather to give, just as our Lord did.