Hands On

Be it a thorn, or a bullet, or a nail, even when taken for someone else, it still hurts.

Easter came early this year. With that said, every year I have a pseudo tradition where I try to find one thing that sticks out in the Easter story.  This year it had to do with hands.

It came to me weeks before Easter. While checking for evidence of mice in the shrubbery, my hand accidentally got a rose thorn embedded in it. It was during the discomfort and several days of trying to dig the shrapnel out of my palm that I got to thinking.  There was a man two thousand years ago named Jesus, who had something much worse happen to his hands. 

On Good Friday, angry men did much more to my Savior than just pricking him in the palm.  As per Roman crucifixion tradition, Jesus was brutally beaten within inches of his life, mercilessly whipped, made to wear a crown of thorns, and had to carry his own cross. 

And if that wasn’t enough, then those same angry men nailed his hands and feet to the cross.  Hmmm.  Just think about that excruciating pain for a moment. Talk about being treated cruelly and utterly unfair. 

So, why did Jesus do it?   Jesus believed in the hands on approach and here are 5 examples of how He lived it out:

1-God willingly became man when Jesus gave up all He knew to come down here for us, so He could stretch out his hands on a cross and we could eventually kill Him.  Talk about an unselfish act of love.

2-Jesus had a gentle, but firm approach.  Kind of like a good handshake, not a fishy one.  He had tender hands, especially when it came to children and those in need.

3-The virgin born man lived a simple life of a carpenter’s son, eventually using his hands to become a wood craftsman himself.  Ironically, in the end, those very nails and wood he had become an expert in were used against him to hold Him fast to the cross.

4-Jesus never had a place he could call his own. His hands never had his own kitchen table he could rest them on after a long day at work.

5-With those hands Jesus broke bread at the last Supper with his disciples.  With those hands he drew in the sand and pardoned a woman many wanted to stone.  With those hands he showed compassion.

Quite frankly, Easter should always be about more than just candy and pastel colored eggs.  It should be about the one who is still reaching his hands out to you and me.

The best approach to show others we care about them is always the hands on one.

Swavel