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"Better to have clean hands and a pure heart than to have clever hands and a smooth tongue."
— Gary Heard, Melbourne, Australia
Source: In "Christian Leadership Discussion Group"
At Purdue university, a study was conducted with librarians. Half were asked to make physical contact (of an appropriate nature, of course) with those who came in to check out or return books or ask for information. The other half were asked to conduct business as usual, with no touching.
The study concluded that those library patrons who were touched had higher regard for the librarians and for the books in the library, and that they followed the library's rules more willingly.
God has made each of us with an innate need for human touch. It's notable that, in the Gospels, Jesus frequently touched people. By being willing to make contact with people, we demonstrate to them that our love for them (and, by extension, God's love for them) truly is unconditional.
Source: Helen Colton, The Gift of Touch, p. 102.
In Zaire, the government operates medical stations which dispense needed medicines to natives, but there are still vast regions where medicine is not readily available. A group of medical missionaries once set up a medicine-dispensing station in one of those regions.
During their stay there, a group of natives traveled a great distance to receive treatment. During the conversation, it was revealed that these particular natives actually lived right nearby one of the government's dispensing stations, yet they'd chosen instead to travel a great distance to the missionary's station.
The missionaries asked why they'd chosen this station over the government station. The natives replied, "The medicine is the same at the other station, but the hands are different here."
_________
Often, the "medicine" we dispense as Christians is the same "medicine" that the world can offer: kind words, a helping hand, charitable deeds. But, we are able to offer that medicine with hands that are different—different because God is at work through our hands.
Source: Rev. Bob Seite
Topics/Tags: Medicine; Hands; Compassion
In the time of Oliver Cromwell, "the iron man of England," an officer of his army was found to be a traitor, and Oliver Cromwell signed the death-warrant for him. An order was given that the next morning when the bell from a nearby church should ring at six o'clock that officer should be shot.
The wife of the officer came into the room where Oliver Cromwell was and fell upon her knees and said, "Sir, won't you pardon my husband?" "No," he said. "He has proved himself a traitor to the country and to the commonwealth. Tomorrow when the bell from the church steeple will ring at six o'clock, then he will be shot."
Heartbroken, this woman of love went out of his presence. Oh, what she experienced! She did not sleep that night, of course. Early in the dawn long before sunrise the form of the wretched woman torn by grief in her heart, was seen hurrying toward the church steeple.
Up she went, step by step until she reached where the large bell was hanging. A man perhaps ninety years of age both deaf and blind, received a few shillings a month for ringing the bell. The officer's wife hid herself in the belfry and when that blind and deaf man began to take hold of the bell rope and pull the wife placed her hand between the brass tongue of the bell and the side and instead of striking the side if the bell, it struck the soft hand of the loving wife of that officer and no sound was heard.
Then the man swung it the other way and the woman put her left hand upon the other side of the bell and it struck her left hand. For about five minutes it kept on striking against her hands until instead of fingers there were only shreds of flesh and blood left. Tears were flowing down the face of that woman in her suffering but she never made a sound, because she was suffering for a loved one. When the old man had finished she went down, the blood dripping to the floor, and she went to Cromwell, the man who had said her husband must die.
She stretched forth her bleeding hands and said, "For the sake of these hands, won't you forgive my husband?"
Cromwell weakened and said, "Woman great is your love. Go in peace." Thus her husband was freed through an act of grace on the part of their Governor and in recognition of the love and the suffering of another.
________
The hands of Jesus also bear the marks of supreme self-sacrifice. Through his sacrificial death he provided for our pardon from sin.
Source: submitted by Bruce Bowlin. In "Pastors' Helper" email discussion list, 3/15/1999.
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