The Touch of God

[sugarssweetpea]

The Touch of God
by Max Lucado
May I ask you to look at your hand for a moment? Look at the back, then the palm. Reacquaint yourself with your fingers. Run a thumb over your knuckles.

What if someone were to film a documentary on your hands? What if a producer were to tell your story based on the life of your hands? What would we see? As with all of us, the film would begin with an infant's fist, then a closeup of a tiny hand wrapped around mommy's finger. Then what? Holding on to a chair as you learned to walk? Handling a spoon as you learned to eat?

We aren't too long into the feature before we see your hand being affectionate, stroking daddy's face or petting a puppy. Nor is it too long before we see your hand acting aggressively: pushing big brother or yanking back a toy. All of us learned early that the hand is suited for more than survival-it's a tool of emotional expression. The same hand can help or hurt, extend or clench, lift someone up or shove someone down.

Were you to show the documentary to your friends, you'd be proud of certain moments: your hand extending with a gift, placing a ring on another's finger, doctoring a wound, preparing a meal, or folding in prayer. And then there are other scenes. Shots of accusing fingers, abusive fists. Hands taking more often than giving, demanding instead of offering, wounding rather than loving. Oh, the power of our hands. Leave them unmanaged and they become weapons: clawing for power, strangling for survival, seducing for pleasure. But manage them and our hands become instruments of grace-not just tools in the hands of God, but God's very hands. Surrender them and these five-fingered appendages become the hands of heaven.

That's what Jesus did. Our Savior completely surrendered his hands to God. The documentary of his hands has no scenes of greedy grabbing or unfounded finger pointing. It does, however, have one scene after another of people longing for his compassionate touch: parents carrying their children, the poor bringing their fears, the sinful shouldering their sorrow. And each who came was touched. And each one touched was changed.




Words to Encourage from Women of Worth International

[best]

And with nails, satan tried to bind the Lord's hands but what happened is the nails held out the Lord's arms to say to us all....

I love you this[...................] much.

[fifty]

Ps 141:2 Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my HANDS as the evening sacrifice.

If you like Max Lucado might I recommend a terrific book that asks a lot of great questions to challenge your spirituality and give insight into Jesus. It's called: Just Like Jesus Devotional; A 30 day walk with the Savior.

[sugarssweetpea]

Thanks for the book recommendation, Fifty. I am currently reading his 3:16.

[fifty]

How is 3:16 sugar? Would you recommend it to me?

~50~

[sugarssweetpea]

I am only on the 3rd chapter, but yes, so far it is good.