Menu

Held By His Hands

December 10,  2014

My Father created the world. He held it in His hands and pronounced, “It is good.”

But His creatures took what His hands made and stained it. Their hands made dirty what His hands had made good.

He sent His Son with hands of a helpless infant to show the world that He understood humanity’s helplessness to fix what their hands had done. Instead of gratitude, His creatures raised their hands in jealous rage to silence His message and scorn His delivery. 

As Jesus grew, His carpenter hands fashioned wood into gifts for His creatures, a reminder of what He and His Father had created before the world began. His hands, calloused and rough, extended in service. His creatures insulted His gifts and mocked His goodness.

When His ministry began, His physician’s hands touched the unclean, the outcasts. His hands brought healing, giving a balm for those seeking peace.

Even in His death, His hands were outstretched in love to His creation.

Spikes driven in His wrists through the carpal tunnel and the median nerve paralyzed his hands into claw shapes unable to feel movement.

As He approached death, He could not stop holding His creation. He called, “Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit.”

But death could not silence the work of His Hands. Jesus extended His Hands to Thomas. His hands prove that it is He. Thomas saw those scars and believed. “My Lord and My God.”

Why did Jesus keep His scars? His resurrected body could have been perfect, without flaw. Instead, He carried the reminder of His visit to His creatures—His scars, a lasting image of wounded humanity.

The pain of man has become the pain of God.

Summarized from In His Image by Paul Brand and Philip Yancey.

Brand, Paul and Philip Yancey. In His Image. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984. Pp 289-291.

My series on suffering are available in booklet form here.Link



Displaying 1 comment

Thanks for sharing, really liked that last about Jesus carrying the reminder of His visit to us in His scars. Thanks for the Christmas letter, really enjoyed it as always. I've been sick off and on since before Thanksgiving so not getting much done, but one day will write our letter. Have a very special Christmas celebrating His birth. Anne

Author of Biblical fiction, married to my best friend, and challenged by eight sons’ growing pains as I write about what matters.

Receive weekly articles by giving your email address below:

Click on book cover for details.

alt

alt


alt

alt
Tell of My Kingdom's Glory
Three Book Series
alt

alt

alt