The Danger of the Earth Touch
Heavenly life cannot rest on earthly foundations. Only in union with Jesus is our life held secure.
Devotional Credit: Open Windows by T. Austin-Sparks
Photo Credit: Unsplash
T. Austin-Sparks warns us of something subtle but devastating in the Christian journey: what he calls “the earth touch.” His words remind us that creation itself was subjected to frustration, not by choice, but under God’s ordering hand, as Romans 8:20 declares. That frustration is seen in confusion, breakdown, and the constant sense of things never fully arriving at their intended glory. Why do movements that once served God powerfully eventually crumble? Why do works begun in faith often dissolve into division and disappointment? Sparks points to one answer. Somewhere along the way, man reached out and tried to bring heavenly realities down to the level of earth.
Instead of resting in the organic life of Jesus and letting His Spirit give form, believers have too often imposed structures, methods, and controls of their own making. They have taken what began as a heavenly work and sought to hold it with earthly hands. The result, Sparks notes, is always decline. God refuses to commit Himself to what is merely humanly constructed. What He begins in the Spirit cannot be maintained by the flesh.
This word does not discourage us, but redirects us. Sparks is urging us away from leaning on blueprints, institutions, and self-made order, and instead pointing us to the living reality of Jesus Himself. The early apostles never carried a manual of church procedure. Wherever they went, they preached Christ crucified and risen, and what followed was life springing forth organically, not mechanically. Where the Spirit is free, there is vitality, spontaneity, and heavenly order that man cannot fabricate.
The warning is clear, but so is the hope. In union with Jesus in heaven, we are released from the frustration of the earth touch. We are not bound to man’s control, nor to systems that fade. We are bound to the risen Lord, whose life in us is not subject to decay. Sparks calls us to live not with hands clinging to earth, but with hearts yielded to the Spirit of God, trusting Him to express the heavenly life in us.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
My child, I have joined you to My Son who is seated in the heavens. Your life is hidden with Him in Me. Do not reach down to grasp at earthly things to sustain what I alone can sustain. The works of man’s hands may promise stability, but they cannot hold the weight of My glory.
When you place your trust in systems, movements, or the approval of men, you will know the frustration of the earth touch. But when you rest in the risen Lord, you discover the freedom of life that is heavenly, not earthly. I have called you to walk by the Spirit, not by sight, to live in union with Jesus above, not tethered to the ground below.
You do not need to strive to make heavenly life fit into earthly molds. Let His life flow. Let His Spirit guide. What is born of the Spirit is Spirit, and it cannot be preserved by the flesh. Your place is to abide in Him and trust Me to bring forth what is eternal.
Scripture References: Romans 8:20, Colossians 3:1-4, Galatians 5:16-18, John 3:6, John 15:4-5, 2 Corinthians 3:17-18, Philippians 3:20-21, Ephesians 2:6-7, 1 Peter 1:3-5.
Real-Life Analogy
Imagine placing a delicate crystal vase on a rickety wooden shelf. No matter how beautiful the vase, if the shelf is unstable, the weight will eventually bring it crashing down. The problem is not with the vase, but with the foundation it was placed upon. In the same way, when we try to rest heavenly realities on human effort, they cannot hold. The foundation collapses under the weight of what belongs only to God.
Today, I can choose not to place the life of Jesus on a fragile shelf of my own making. Instead, I yield to Him and quietly say, “Lord, I trust You to live Your life through me in this moment, resting in the heavenly foundation that never fails.” This keeps me free from the frustration of earth and opens me to the fullness of His life.
Prayer of Confidence
Lord, I thank You that my life is not bound to earth but hidden with Jesus in heaven. You have freed me from the frustration of trying to sustain what only You can uphold. I rejoice that my access is to heavenly life, not limited by earthly weakness. Today I rest in You, confident that what You bring forth in me is eternal, Spirit-born, and untouched by decay.