Born in a dark, isolated world of blindness and deafness where touch was the only contact with people and things around her; Helen Keller once expressed, “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.” I have found that statement to be so true about my relationship with God and with other believers. Those deep, heartfelt feelings are nearly impossible to describe or express to someone who has not experienced them. I have tried to describe what it was like to share life and love with my soulmate for fifty years and I was at a rare loss for words. Greater still, words cannot begin to describe the joy, peace, freedom and fulfillment of a 65 year relationship with God through the life, death and resurrection of His Son and with the constant companionship and guidance of His Holy Spirit. I usually just give up and resort to that old sales pitch, “Try it; you’ll like it!” Those feelings are hard to put into words, but I think they are on display to those closest to us through our attitude and actions.
There are other feelings that are guided by our emotions. They may not be so deep, beautiful or even important, because they are temporary. Those feelings are the enemy’s play toys. He uses them to convince us to make wrong decisions and overreact. There is an old expression that someone was wearing their heart on their sleeve; meaning that they were exposing themselves to hurt feelings. Today, many people have translated their opinions into feelings and then wear them proudly on their forehead, where the slightest different opinion or feeling of someone else can trigger not only hurt feelings; but resentment, anger and even hatred. The saddest part of that situation is that it is a defense mechanism Satan uses to isolate us and make it impossible for honest, meaningful dialog.
Differences are not new. Since the beginning of time, each person has viewed the world through our own lens made up of our unique DNA, experiences and environment. Conflict always arises when others don’t see the world as we do. When I was young, we could discuss our differences without being offended or offensive. We could come to an agreement, even if we just agreed to disagree. Because we didn’t take our differences personally, we could even remain friends. This current “friend or foe” atmosphere makes that impossible, because it automatically shuts down any opposing views. Walking through these emotional mine fields these days without triggering someone’s feelings requires the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Only God knows who is ready to consider a relationship with Him and who is too defensive right now. All we can do is provide an example of a Christ centered life and wait for God to open them to experience those deep and beautiful feelings that touch the heart.