The Senses

God has given us 5 senses: Sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. What is remarkable to me is that some of these senses are passive and some are active.

By active, I mean we can actively control the use of that sense. For example, with sight, I can control what I look at, what I do not want to look at, and I can even shut my eyes and not look at anything.

Passive senses are just the opposite. With hearing, I hear everything, whether I want to or not...and I cannot turn it off.

The beauty is that both are special in their own way. Active senses give us the power to control what we are doing. We can focus on the task at hand and perform it more efficiently. Imagine trying to drive a car if you could not control what you were looking at.

Conversely, the passive senses let us help protect us from the unknown--the things we did not think to focus on. For example, if I were asleep in a burning house, I would be quite greatful that my hearing would passively sense the sound of the smoke detector, or my nose would smell the smoke, and I would awaken and get to safety.

So some senses help us to focus while others help to make us aware when we need to change our focus. What a brilliant set of tools God has given us.

And better yet, God did not stop with just giving us a beautifully efficient functioning sensory system. He also packed it with pleasure. Just think how wonderful it is to taste delicious food, to caress someone we love, to listen to beautiful music. God didn't have to do that. But he loved us enough that he provided all that pleasure along with the functionality.

God must enjoy the senses as well. He asks us to worship him with a joyful noise and a fragrant offering. He asks us to taste the bread and the cup. Just imagine how much greater the sensory power of God must be over ours. That's gonna be some wonderful worship in heaven.