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3 In addition to sweat, the skin also secretes<br />
sebum, an oily substance which lubricates the<br />
hairs and the epidermis. Sweat-glands are exceptionally<br />
numerous on the hands and the soles of<br />
the feet. There are about 200 million sweatglands<br />
which secrete approximately one litre of<br />
water per day through orifices in the skin.<br />
4 The skin also performs a respiratory function,<br />
handling between one and two percent of the<br />
total gas exchange of the body. It absorbs oxygen,<br />
and carbon dioxide can pass through it in<br />
both directions.<br />
John begins his first epistle by testifying that he<br />
has observed the Son of God by means of his<br />
own <strong>sense</strong>s. He is an eye-witness as well as an<br />
aural and a tactile witness of Jesus: “That which<br />
was from the beginning, which we have heard,<br />
which we have seen with our eyes, which we<br />
have looked at and our hands have touched –<br />
this we proclaim concerning the Word of life...<br />
We proclaim to you what we have seen and<br />
heard ...” (1 John 1:1,3).<br />
5 Pain acts as a guardian of our health. It is usually<br />
invoked indirectly by pain mediating chemicals<br />
accumulating in body tissues, which then<br />
stimulate free nerve endings.<br />
The Bible and the <strong>sense</strong> of touch: God has all<br />
the <strong>sense</strong>s which we have. Since we are made in<br />
His image, He blessed us with our various <strong>sense</strong>s.<br />
King Belshazzar was told that he had set himself<br />
up against the Lord of heaven, because he<br />
“praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze,<br />
iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear<br />
or understand” (in the German translation<br />
“understand” is rendered as “feel”, Daniel 5:23).<br />
Man-made idols are characterised as having no<br />
<strong>sense</strong> <strong>organs</strong>. In contrast, the living God can see,<br />
hear, and feel. The risen Christ wasn’t an imaginary<br />
figure, but He was so real that He could be<br />
seen, heard, and touched. When Jesus appeared<br />
suddenly amongst his disciples, they were frightened,<br />
because they thought that they were seeing<br />
a ghost. To convince them that He was genuine<br />
and real, He allowed them to touch Him:<br />
“Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself!<br />
Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh<br />
and bones, as you see I have” (Luke 24:39).<br />
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