There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. ~Mark 7:15
As I was breathing in essential oils, as I do before every meditation, God occurred to me in thought. As I breathed in the soothing, healing, intoxicating aroma of the blood of plants which He has made, and which He has imbued Himself into as by His essence being in every living cell, and as it went directly into my brain, I realized I was literally breathing God in. God, via his wonderful and miraculous way was infiltrating my very being, as deeply physically as possible; not just my physical brain, but crossing over into my mind as well, having effect upon my emotions.
I began to consciously consider the senses He has given to us, but to consider them in context to Him and doing His work. Some of our senses are passive and some of our senses are active. Some perceive and others partake, and some do both. I have ordered them from passive to active:
- Ears: Most passive. Can only take in data, but can be very attuned to their surroundings when trained, as exemplified by how a blind person hears better than a sighted person. My ears are very adept at hearing emotion in the person I am listening to. I would go so far as to say my ears are my most sensitive sense.
- Nose/Breath: Very passive. Although the nose can express itself by snorting or snotting or breathing out as in a whisper. The nose can tickle or offend, basically. Some have a very heightened sense of smell. The nose is also a direct line into the brain as mentioned before, so what we put in our nose can bring us immediately unto God or leave us sick (as when we breathe toxic fumes).
- Eyes: Mostly passive but can also be an active sense. What we put our eyes on and view can profoundly affect us, and what we view can also profoundly affect a living subject, even an animal. When two living and breathing creatures’ eyes meet, there is the sensation that soulfulness can flow between them, giving meaning to the saying that the ‘eyes are the windows of the soul’.
- Touch: Equally passive and active. Touch can hurt us or heal us. Our touch can hurt or heal. We can feel immense pleasure or immense pain via our skin, and all the nerve cells contained therein. We are covered in skin on every part of our body making our entire body either a sensory perceiver, but also a sensory giver. Abuse often involves touch, but not always, and love-making almost always involves touch.
- Taste/Mouth: Passive and potentially the most active in the form of our words. Even when we cannot touch or see someone, we can speak or express ourselves with words (on a screen for example). Our sense of taste is passive, but our tongue can also be very active, especially in the realm of love-making. Our mouth can hurt by biting or by the use of hurtful words, or give excessive pleasure via words or sensual touch as in kissing or love-making. As James says: “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of our nature; and it is set on fire of hell.” ~James 3:6 Our tongue and the words issued from our mouth are, perhaps ironically, the most active sense we have. We consider communication the most important component of relationships, which is interesting because the two, language and communication, go hand in hand. If we cannot communicate with each other, we cannot live out that second commandment which is so important! If we do not have words, we can then have touch, but touch is not as ideal as words, as explained here. Even when we lose sense of touch, or cannot be near our loved ones, we can still feel elated communicating with them! Isn’t that a telling mark of God’s intent with His people? All of us can connect with God just by thinking. But the way we love each other is most easily done with our mouth and with our words.
So most of our senses are passive; given to us by God to experience the world He has given us and the people He has put us with. We have control over what we perceive to a certain extent, as illustrated by what we search for and view online. Jesus also said that a man who looks upon a woman with lust in his heart has already committed adultery with her. We can use our God-given perception devices to become closer to Him and our fellow human beings, to gain more knowledge of God and each other. But we can also allow them to distract us from God and knowing each other in the right way.
Our active senses are essential for sharing the love among each other. We can show God we love Him by our acts and by just passively thinking about Him, because He is in our head, infused in every cell of our body! He knows what we are thinking every moment of our lives. But our active senses allow us to connect to each other. They are His gift to us to share (hopefully) love with each other to fulfill His second most important Commandment: To love our neighbor as ourself.
I believe that is why Jesus said that it is what comes OUT of a man that defiles him, because we have been given power with our bodies to love each other, but also to harm each other. What comes out of each and every one of us has the power to either defile man and his neighbor, or glorify God.
I pray I use my senses you blessed me with Lord, for good only, and to promote Your Love in the way You intend. Amen.
~Song of Mary~ 