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Hands
By Scott Harrup | March 21, 2008
When I look closely at my hands, details of my life come to mind.
Scars speak of accidents large and small. One of the smallest scars is from one of my worst injuries. I sliced the end of my right ring finger with a razor blade—deeply. But razors make for very thin scars. A more visible scar near the base of my right middle finger is from a minor injury. I was running through my bedroom as a boy and my hand caught a dresser knob.
During more than 21 years with my favorite person, my wedding ring has pinched a small groove visible whenever I take the ring off. That small line represents so much joy, so many shared challenges, the birth and growth of three children.
In our hands resides a wealth of skills critical to our livelihood. Mine have learned to navigate a computer keyboard. Other people train their hands to pick out the intricacies of a Chopin etude on the piano. Guinness World Records notes such strange accomplishments as the fastest time to carve a pumpkin (about 24 seconds) or pluck a turkey (90 seconds).
The Bible talks a lot about hands — human hands and the hands of God. Human hands, capable of expressing love and creating art, all too often carry out acts of hatred and violence.
God’s hands, viewed poetically and from the grandest scale, shaped the universe (Isaiah 40:12). God’s hand is also described as working in behalf of His chosen people Israel (Exodus 3:20) and even more specifically in individual lives (Psalm 37:24).
In the great story of redemption, human hands and God’s hands meld in the person of Christ. Which is why today the Christian world reverently celebrates God’s greatest act of love — most powerfully expressed in two, very human, nail-pierced hands.