January 20, 2014
“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him…”Genesis 1:26,27
I have often wondered why God chose to do this…of all His creation, He chose to make man and woman in His own image…and He made us in His likeness…And this Great and Mighty God reached out His Hand to create; And this Great and Mighty God reached down with His Hand to involve Himself with His creation…He reached down with His Hand to touch and to hold His creation…
He reached down…He reached in…The Hand of God!
And the Wonderful God Almighty spoke Creation into existence and His hand laid the foundations of the earth…and His right hand spread out the heavens…
Genesis 1, Isaiah 48:13
In His Hands
Much of the character of our loving Heavenly Father is revealed through the work of His Hands…Much of His will and purpose for our lives is fulfilled through the work of our hands….
“Even there, Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me. “Psalm 139:10
I love the feeling of a little hand in mine; that is one of the first rules that loving parents attempt to teach their little ones…is to hold hands in parking lots and streets…and it is one of the most difficult tasks if you have a child who BOLTS…There was a time when I sat in judgment when I would see a precious toddler shackled or tethered by a leash looking device…UNTIL, I had my own bolter…UNTIL she could wiggle free of the most tenacious grip…I suddenly understood why the leash became a mother’s best friend, especially in busy malls or airports…Yes, we would try to gently lead, but there were times when the right hand would lay hold of our precious one…Why? Because we are made in the image of our Loving Heavenly Father…and because He empowers us through His Spirit to live, to love.
“For I, the Lord, Your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” Isaiah 41:13
And we help those whom we love, as our Loving Father helps those whom He loves…and He reaches out His Hand to protect…to help…to guard… And we reach out our hand to protect…to help…to guard…
In His Hands…
Our nephew was born on April 2, 2005….He was a beautiful child…And the Hand of our Loving God reached down to hold this child…He had carefully and intentionally knitted this child in the womb of his mother…and Ryan was born weighing 2 lbs. 6.4oz., thirteen weeks before his due date…And as the Mighty Hand of our Loving Father held on to him, the tiny baby Ryan was born into the hands of a skilled and compassionate physician. And that tiny baby boy, fit perfectly into the palm of his earthly father’s hand. Ryan was transported to Cook’s Children’s Hospital in Ft. Worth. And the hands of the medical staff and the hands of his parents were attentive to love and to care for this tiny baby, beautifully and perfectly formed. The loving hands of his mother and of his father held him, served him, loved him, attended to his needs; the Loving Hands of His Heavenly Father held him…and protected him, prospered him, and guarded him…And today, Ryan is a perfectly healthy, happy, wonderful eight- year old young man.
“…O Lord…you know me…You hem me in-behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me…” Psalm 139
In His Image…In His Hands….
The hand is an amazing appendage; and it is one of the most active parts of the human body. I marvel at the intricacy of the planning, of its formation, and of its performance. Research indicates that a baby in utero is capable of gripping a small rod by the age of sixteen weeks, with the formation of the tiny hands beginning as early as the fourth week of gestation. The muscular development of the hand occurs quickly as does the formation of the five separate fingers. Upon maturity, each hand contains twenty-seven bones, at least one-hundred twenty-three ligaments, and thirty muscles which move the fingers and the thumb. Approximately one quarter of the motor cortex in the human brain devotes itself to the muscles of the hands. Yes, the human hand is an amazingly designed appendage…capable of so many feats…designed intentionally for so many purposes…
The human hands are diverse appendages…The human hand shows affection, tenderness and love; the human hand gestures and speaks its language…a universal language…the human hand creates and communicates through artistic design, musical instruments, and written language…The human hand builds, it manufactures, it invents, it works…The human hand defends, it protects, it guards. The human hand plays with children, with grandchildren…The mother’s hand reaches out to receive the beautiful fragrant flowers from the hand of her child…
The human hand touches…
In His Image…In His Hands…
The ministry of the Christ Yeshua produced a miraculous Hope which He gave to mankind. Not only the physical Hope through His healing touch, but His touch tore down barriers that sin had inflicted on people, separating them from each other and from their Loving God. His gift bore the Hope, freeing mankind from the darkness that shrouded hearts and minds…from the futility of ritual, from the dungeons of despair…His touch gave Joy, and Hope, and New and Abundant Life…
In His Image…In His Hands…His Touch…
One of the most captivating non-fiction books that I have read is the book by Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey, entitled Fearfully and Wonderfully Made. Dr. Brand was an orthopedic surgeon specializing in hand surgery and therapy, especially as it applied to the effects of leprosy. He spent many years in India studying and researching, but moved to the U. S. to Carville, La. to the National Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy) Center. It was there that many treatments and therapeutic techniques were discovered and developed for patients suffering from nerve damage and other injuries and diseases, including diabetes mellitus. But his first concern had been for the lepers he had encountered as a child of missionary parents in India and the devastating effects of the disease on the extremities of victims of the dreaded disease…the faces, the feet, the hands…and the isolation… The book is written from Dr. Brand’s perspective and his experience as he discovered the miraculous relationship between the human body and Spiritual reality…I marvel at the accounts of human touch which were life-changing, life-saving…and I marvel at the Divine touch of the Master’s Hand…on the human heart, body, soul, mind, spirit…
In His Image..In His Hands…His Touch…
In Biblical times, a skin disease called Leprosy was the most dreaded of diseases; when a mother or a father discovered the loss of feeling and consequential injuries…and the decay…and the rawness of flesh…their lives changed forever. Permanent good-byes were spoken, without embraces…without physical affection…without a touch…Isolation became the existence…Rejection became the norm…Disgrace and disgust became the “companions”. The leper became an outcast…separated…untouchable…often required to wear a bell to warn others of the danger lurking from the presence of the afflicted. And yet, there was a desperate man who had heard of the Christ Jesus, and while Jesus was in one of the towns, this man came along who was covered with leprosy. He must have recognized Jesus…and his heart must have been stirred to cause him to fall to the ground…face down…in an act of worship, of honor, totally aware of his uncleanness, his unworthiness, his desperation…but he called out to the Lord, in a faith statement, begging him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
The desperate, outcast, unclean and unholy…knew that the Lord could change his world, his existence, his life…He knew that the Lord could…if He chose to, if He was willing to…
And our Lord, knowing the risk, knowing the horror of the dreaded disease, knowing the Law and the consequence of touching this unclean affliction…Yet, knowing the despair of this man, the isolation, the pain, the sorrow, the shame, Christ Yeshua reached out His hand and touched the man. And He spoke as He reached out, perhaps the first touch in years… “I am willing; Be clean.” And, immediately, the dreaded disease, the shameful affliction left the body of the man. (Luke 5) Jesus touched the man…healing his body…restoring the man’s community to mankind…removing the darkness of condemnation…redeeming the quality of his life and his moments…renewing his life…
The touch of the Master’s Hand changes everything…In His Image…
We are created in the image of the Almighty God…we have within our reach, within the realm of our touch, the ability to reach out our hands…to reach into lives…We have the example of our Divine Master who touched the outcast…who touched the rejected…the dejected…the discouraged…the damaged…
Joyce is a dear friend of mine and over years of friendship, she has shared the incredible fulfillment she receives from her job, which she lovingly refers to her as a blessing in her life…and as her ministry. Joyce is an Occupational Therapist and Certified Hand Therapist and has vast experience in the treatment of traumatic UE/hand injuries and diseases, and conditions. The very nature of her profession…her ministry, requires the touch of her hand…The touch of her hand to change the condition of her patient…perhaps healing, or improvement…But always connection, always compassion, always hope… Joyce shared that her greatest fulfillment is, “The privilege and the blessing of giving each person a sense of hope, courage, and assurance during the healing process that their quality of life will be restored as we work on the rehabilitation process together.”
And Joyce offers the gift of her hands and her touch, to help to heal, to improve, to encourage, to bless, to renew, to restore…
And I think about our Jesus as He touched people…some with blindness…some with illness…some with disease…some discouraged…some without life…All in desperate need of His touch…of His compassion…of His love…
I think about the physicians who touch in order to heal…to encourage…to improve the lives that are in desperate need of his or her touch…of compassion…of love…
I think of the physicians and the nurses who cared for our nephew…and of the loving hands of his mother and father as they held him…
I think of the mothers and fathers who lovingly and sacrificially hold and love their precious babies…who offer their gift of touch…of love… of life…
I think of my friend who uses her gift to touch, to heal, to restore lives that have been shattered, or broken, or injured…
Yes, we are made in the image of our Creator God…He holds the world…He holds our lives…He holds the lives of our children and our grand-children in His Hands…His Hands are strong…His Hands are compassionate…
In His Image…In His Hands…His Touch
When I teaching a Bible class for high school seniors, I would take them to a near-by nursing home to visit the patients there. On this particular day, we had the privilege of meeting a beautiful, tiny, saint of God. She was an elderly lady and sat in a wheelchair, in a slumped position, her frail body ridden with osteoporosis. She had lovely white hair, pulled back tightly in a little bun. Her fingers were so frail, that she wore gloves which separated and protected her them from injury. She had difficulty raising her head to communicate; and I noticed that two of my students sat on the floor around her wheelchair so that they could look up into her face. I was amused that the girls had been so intuitive; I continued to watch the scene. The girls looked up into the face of this woman and listened intently to what she was saying. And then, the little woman reached down to the girls with her gloved hand, and ever so gently patted their shoulders. I watched as the girls stood and leaned in to gently hug their new friend. As the girls turned to walk toward me, tears were running down each of their faces. I asked the girls what they had been talking about; they said that their new friend had told them “to love Jesus every day of their lives…to do His work…to live His love…to be His Hands, everyday…Then, their lives would have meaning beyond measure.”
I have often thought of this little woman’s touch…I suspect that her touch and her words changed two girls’ lives…I know that she changed my life…She continued to do the Lord’s work with her words, her life, her touch…even though her body was old and breaking…even though it was wearing out…Her spirit, her life, her love, her faith in her Lord were strong…
In His Image…In His Hands…
God’s Word reveals the character of our Almighty God…the character of His Redeeming Son…the character of His Empowering Spirit…
And for a reason only our Loving Creator knows, He chose to create man and woman in His Image…He chose to use His strong right Hand…He chose to hold our hand, our lives…and to not let go…He will not let go…
… “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them…I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand”…John 10:27-28
“Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands…” Isaiah 49:16
Our Loving Master adores us…He holds us in His firm, strong hand…He created us; He leads us; He guides us; He protects us; He redeems us; He restores us; He saves us; He heals us; He holds us in the firm strong hand…He engraved us on His palms…and we are In His Hands…
May we do His work…live His love…be His hands…every day of our lives…and may we be confident, encouraged, empowered, joyful, hopeful, and assured, because our lives, and the lives of our loved ones…through Christ Yeshua, are
IN HIS HANDS…
Abundant Hope and Joy,
