messageoct2007

What is the most wonderful tool in the world? Is it a monkey wrench (I just love saying that)(, a pair of pliers, a
hammer, a saw or my personal favorite, DUCT TAPE?

No, the most wonderful tool in the world is the oldest one we have - It's our hands! And even more wonderful
is the fact that most of us are born with this marvelous tool.

A tool isn't just for show or ornament, however lovely it may be. A hammer is made for driving nails, a saw for
cutting things. Other tools do one, two, or maybe three things if we're lucky. But our hands are almost without
limit in the number of jobs they can perform.

W use our hands to pick up food, drive cars, to type on the computer - in fact, you could go on all day listing
what our hands can do.

So, how does God intend us to use these tow marvelous tools He gave us? Well, first lets look at a few wrong
ways.

How many of us use our hands to hit. Have you ever clinched this fine tool into a fist and turned them into
weapons. I remember the little neighbor girl hitting her younger brother and her father, seeing what happened,
turned around and slapped the little girl in the head while yelling, "Don't' hit your brother!" We know that God
never intended that our hands be weapons or that they hold weapons, because Jesus told us, "to love one another."

How many of us use our hands to grab? Grab things that don't belong to you. How many of us wring our
hands? That is, we sit around being sad, rubbing one hand on the other saying, "Oh, too bad or whoa is me - I
wish I could do something, but I can't."

How did Jesus use his hands? Well, we know he didn't use them to hit, or grab, or wring. We know he was a
carpenter. We also know he used his hands to help people.

He touched the blind, and they saw. He laid his hands on the cripple, and they walked. He gave hungry people
bread, and they went aways satisfied. He put his hands on the sick, and they were made well.

Finally Jesus, carried his own cross with his own hands - those hands which were nailed to the wood of the
cross.

God wants us to use our hands to help. This most marvelous tool, given by him, can be a force for such good.
This month, as we kick off our annual Stewardship program of time, talent, and treasure, let us take the time to
think about how we are using our hands to fulfill our mission.

Pastor Steltzer