By Carol Round, Special to ASSIST News Service
CLAREMORE, OK (ANS – August 2, 2015) -- “Whatever you do, do it from the heart for the Lord and not for people”—Colossians 3:23 (CEB).
Have
you ever closely examined your hands or the hands of another? While
that might seem like a strange question, a recent devotional made me
contemplate my own hands. In a little more than three months, I will
celebrate my 62nd birthday. When I compare my hands to the smooth
unblemished hands of my grandchildren, I try to recall what mine looked
like before they became permanently marked with the telltale signs of
aging.
More important than the
appearance of our hands is what they have accomplished for God. We can
choose to use our hands in worthless pursuits designed for personal gain
or we can follow Jesus’ example to serve others.
In June, I was blessed to have
my two oldest grandchildren participate in a week-long mission through
our church’s VBS. Each day, the fifth and sixth-graders took part in a
different project to teach them about the importance of serving others.
One of our day’s activities involved helping at the local Meals on
Wheels, a nonprofit dedicated to delivering hot food to shut-ins in
Claremore. Most of those receiving assistance are the elderly.
My grandson enjoyed that day’s
service project so much he volunteered to return in July and serve
again. Last week, he spent the night with me. After breakfast, we drove
to the Meals on Wheels headquarters where Brennan, who had just
celebrated his 10th birthday the week before, assisted Jack Weyler,
president of the nonprofit, to pack the eight meals we would be
delivering. Mr. Weyler, who is in his mid-80s, is not the oldest
volunteer who shows up faithfully to either cook, pack or delivers
meals. One volunteer is 92-years-old.
The author of the devotional I
mentioned above said, “When I paused to ponder my answer (to what did
your hands do today?), I realized that what I was doing with my hands
was small but worthwhile. On Mondays, I go to the church and take apart
the large church flower arrangement from the Sunday services to make
small bouquets for the sick, elderly, or lonely members. I spend a few
hours sorting the flowers and rearranging them. Then someone else
distributes them.”
The devotional writer added,
“Although my work is a small effort, I know it spreads joy and love to
people who often feel forgotten.”
Jesus reminds us in Matthew
25:33-40 that what we do for the hungry and thirsty, for the strangers
and the unclothed as well as those who are ill or in prison, we have
done it for one of the least of His brothers and sisters and “you have
done it for me.”
We can waste our time and money
or we can invest it in God’s kingdom. At the end, God is not going to
ask us what kind of car we drove, how large our house was or how many
clothes hung in our closet. His concern is for those we’re helping along
the way.
What are your hands doing today?
Photo captions: Using our hands for God. 2) Carol Round.
I always love hearing from my readers. Please feel free to visit my blog at www.carolaround.com or email me at carol@carolaround.com.
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