Show Me Your Hands

“And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.”                     Luke 24:40

All through my childhood and the childhood of my children, we seemed to frequently have a problem with dirty hands.  The kids would come in from playing in the yard, school, or some other activity, and we’d always say, “Go and wash your hands.”  Many times, they would return, swear they’d done this, and hold out their hands with their palms down.  At this point, we would always say, “Show me your hands, but turn them over.”  When the palms are turned up, the dirty hands are visible.

There are different ways to look at dirty hands.  We can look at them as people might have looked at the lepers in Jesus’s day as unclean; we can view them as a symbol of neglect or laziness; we can look at them as unacceptable; or we can look at them as those hands which are committed to service to God.

My PaPa worked all of his life as a lineman for Georgia Power Company.  When his work days were through, he would come home and work as a heating and air conditioning specialist at night and weekends.  No matter how hard he scrubbed them, he could never get all the grease, oil, and dirt completely gone from his hands.  He always worked hard, did things for others, and loved serving his God.  His dirty hands were  a symbol of how he lived in service.  I loved those hands.

In Jesus’ time, purity was the law of the Pharisees.  I am pretty sure that with all the traveling on dusty roads, the work of a carpenter,  the healing of the unclean, the teaching and holding of children, the washing of the disciples’ feet, the raising of the dead, the turning of water into wine, and all the other personal contact associated with His ministry,  Jesus violated the purity laws.  He was never afraid to get those hands dirty in service to others.

All of us will be asked to show our hands one day.  I pray they will be dirty from our service to others.

I thank God for the life of Robert McMichael and his hands which were always lifted in song, praise and service to his Lord.

Let my hands perform His bidding,                                                                                          Let my feet run in His ways,                                                                                                        Let my eyes see Jesus only,                                                                                                          Let my lips speak forth His praise.                    All For Jesus by Mary James