Touched

I watched a pilot for a new show on Fox last week. It’s called “Touch,” and I’ll admit it. It touched me!

It’s about a boy and his father. The boy, Jake, is thought to be autistic. He doesn’t speak, and like most autistic children, doesn’t like to be touched. But Jake’s not really autistic. He’s gifted.

He doesn’t just see the world as we do, a bunch of people living random lives. He sees how we are all connected, and how what each of us does affects dozens, maybe hundreds, maybe even thousands of others.

So throughout the show Kiefer Sutherland, who plays the father, is trying to get through to his son. He longs to be able to communicate with the boy, but Jake seems to be in his own world. Finally, through a bunch of increasingly dramatic events, Kiefer begins to realize his son is trying to tell him something. He follows the clues, and eventually everything turns out as it was meant to. The show comes to a climax at the top of a cell phone tower in the midst of a storm. It’s there that Kiefer shouts to his son, “I hear you! I hear you!”

Slowly, Jake turns to face his father, looks him straight in the eye, and then suddenly jumps into his arms. What a moment!

Have you ever felt like Kiefer Sutherland? I have. So many times I think God is trying to tell me something, but I’m just not sure what it is. I get clues here and there. Bible verses seem to pop up out of nowhere that directly address something I’m struggling with. And then, all of a sudden, in the midst of the storm, I see. It all makes sense. “Lord,” I pray, “I hear you!” and immediately I feel His arms wrap around me. It’ll be okay. Everything’s going to work out just as it should.

I don’t know if “Touch” will be a big hit for Fox, or one of my favorite shows in 2012. But I do know, the first episode really got me thinking.


And now, Psalm 121.


Listen.



Maybe God’s trying to tell you something.