Hands full of glory

For me, the best basketball player of all time was JULIUS ERVING. Although it's possible that some are not in agreement with this statement, no-one can deny that Julius' importance within the world of basketball was enormous.

Few players have managed to attract so many spectators to the game in the way he did. He had hands that were extremely large, which allowed him to catch the ball with amazing ease. He was even able to perform various circles with one arm, without losing his grip of the ball. What incredible hands!

In the history of mankind there existed a pair of hands that were without equal. Hands that healed, hands that cared, strong hands, and full of power. Hands that touched his fellow man. They were hands that communicated and expressed love.

They were hands that worked hard, and were roughened in the service of others. Hands that always gave and did not ask, they were hands full of glory - the hands of Jesus. When no-one else offered their hands to aid the downtrodden, Jesus helped them.

When no-one touched lepers for fear of catching the disease, and they were considered outcasts, Jesus drew near to them and took their hands. Yes, the people knew the hands of Jesus, because they were always available to help, always caring.

 Whenever people brought the sick to Jesus, he laid his hands on them. His hands never tired of doing good. When the crowd were hungry, Jesus took a little food in his hands and it multiplied. One day he touched a young girl, who had died, and immediately life returned to her, and on another occasion he touched the eyes of a blind man, and he saw the light for the first time in his life.

Many people came to Jesus and asked him to put his hands on them or a sick loved one. In all the places where Jesus journeyed, people exclaimed about the miracles his hands performed. Hands full of glory; they were the hands of God.

One day those hands were nailed to a cross. They were pierced, wounded and broken, they bled and suffered immense pain, tendons were ripped, and muscles torn. Those hands took on the pain of the world.

On the cross, Jesus suffered the punishment for all the sin of the world, and he himself had not done anything wrong, ever! Jesus yielded up his powerful hands out of love, even for those who killed him. He knew that through his death, he was giving us life.

The story does not finish there! Jesus conquered death and rose again in power. When he appeared to his disciples, he showed them his nail-scarred hands as proof of the pain God suffered for mankind. He said, 'look at my hands', and he blessed the people as he had done so many times before.

The same Lord Jesus has promised us that 'no one can snatch us from his hands'. The most secure place we could be in, is in his hands.

Do you know that even today, in heaven, Jesus' hands retain the scars? No-one need explain to God about the depths of their pain; he already knows. He took the pain of the world on himself, and in his hands. Even today the heavenly hosts give glory to God for the greatness of these signs of pain in these hands. Hands full of glory. The hands of Jesus.