Luke 7:13-16
And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.  And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.  And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.  And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.

Sometimes our instinct is to avoid difficult situations, to not get involved.  But Jesus was always stepping toward people in their most difficult, sorrowful, and painful moments.  Ours is not a God untouched by the struggles we face and the hurts we feel.  Ours is not a Savior unconcerned with the circumstances of our lives.  He came on purpose, and He came to make a difference.  And even though His overarching goal was to secure our salvation, the miracles He did to demonstrate His power affected real people in a real way.

Jesus walked among His people.  He saw their sorrowful condition and had compassion.  And He continues to touch our lives and our world with His hands of mercy.  He delivers us from death to new life.  He comes to dwell with us when we know Him as our Savior.  He came not to observe from a distance, but to be intimately involved.  He is not indifferent to the things we face here, but He comes close to join us in the messiness of life.

The touch of God is recognizable.  The people were able to recognize that what Jesus was doing were things that only God could do.  They understood that an almighty power was at work.  They knew that it had to be of God, because He is the author of life.  And their response was to fear Him, to glorify Him, to stand in awe that their great God would come so close and interact with them and do something so incredible right before their eyes.

God is still working in our world, even if Jesus is no longer bodily on Earth. His Spirit is present, and so His power is here.  His love hasn’t changed, and so that is among us, too.  He still has compassion on us.  He still wants to intercede in our lives.  He is still giving new life, and He is still worthy of our praise and worship.  He is still a great God to be feared as we stand in awe of the reality that Jesus would choose to be a part of our world and a part of our lives.