A grandson noticed his grandfather of some ninety plus years sitting in his chair staring curiously at his hands. As he sat down next to his grandfather, he asked if he was okay. His grandfather nodded approval and then replied, “Have you ever really looked at your hands?” The grandson slowly opened his hands and stared at them for a moment trying to humor his grandfather, “No, I guess I never really looked at them.”
His grandfather smiled and then said, “Think about how well your hands have served you throughout your life. My hands, though wrinkled and weak, have been the tools I have used to grab and embrace life. When I was a toddler, they braced me when I fell. They tied my shoes and pulled up my boots. They put food in my mouth and clothes on my body. As a child my mother taught me to fold them in prayer. As an adult they dried the tears of my children and caressed the love of my life. They held my rifle and wiped my tears when I went off to war. They have been dirty, scraped raw, swollen, and bent. They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son. They trembled when I buried my parents and walked my daughter down the aisle. They have held children, consoled neighbors, and shook in fits of rage when I didn’t understand. They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed my body. To this day when not much of anything else works real well, these old hands continue to hold me up, lay me down, and continue to fold in prayer. They hold the marks of where I’ve been and the life I’ve lived.”
The grandson looked at his hands again and said, “Wow, Grandpa, I never really thought about my hands like that.” His grandfather continued, “But most importantly, it will be these hands that God will reach out and take when He leads me home. And with my hands He will lift me to His side – and there I will use these hands to touch the face of my Savior.”
Take a long look at your hands – are they being used for God’s Kingdom and His glory? Take the time to consider the blessings from God’s hands to yours and be thankful. Then commit yourself to use your hands to worship and serve Him faithfully. The Psalmist David proclaimed, “I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.”
With Lifted Hands,
Pastor Bill