To Be His Hand

TO BE HIS HAND

This picture of the Hand of Christ is extremely moving and humbling to me for several different reasons.

Firstly, because I love Jesus Christ and what He has done for me!  The price He paid on my behalf alone is unfathomable to imagine!  The depth and breadth of His love for every single soul defies all comprehension, and even if we are given but a glimpse of His love it is utterly overwhelming.  The tokens of His loving sacrifice are a glorious reminder of how much we mean to Him and the terrible price He paid on our behalf.

“Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands…” – Isaiah 49:16

I also love this sketch because my wife created it!  She has taken up painting a bit over the past few years and is developing a long-hidden artistic talent, which is amazing to see blossoming right before my eyes.  She has just recently begun to combine this talent with her testimony and study of the scriptures through a blog which you can find at Pigments and Ponderings and has many paintings and thoughts she will be sharing over time.  She has mostly done paintings before, and this was one of her first pencil sketches she has created for her latest blog post.

But the most moving thing about this sketch for me, is not in its mastery and precision of detail, but the fact that my wife used my own hand as the model for this composition.

To consider that my own imperfect hand could and would be transformed under the hands of a creator, to represent that glorious right hand of the Master Creator is a both greatly humbling, and in a way, a bit uncomfortable.  My hands are so far inferior and flawed compared to His own.  His hands which hold such Omnipotent power and strength, as well as the marks of my own imperfections and countless others, are glorious and perfect.  While my own hands are so often lacking in strength.

Yet the fact that my hand my might represent His in some small way is also very empowering to consider and humbles me all the more.  That He might consider using me as His representative in some way through my daily walk of life provides purpose and meaning to what I do and how I attempt to do it.

To those who desire to follow Him on the path of discipleship He has declared:

“Go forth among …thy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls.” – Alma 17:11

“Wherefore, I call upon the weak things of the world, those who are unlearned and despised, to thresh the nations by the power of my Spirit; And their arm shall be my arm, and I will be their shield and their buckler; and I will gird up their loins, and they shall fight manfully for me…” – Doctrine & Covenants 35:13-14.

One of the Lord’s living apostles, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf stated:

 “When I think of the Savior, I often picture Him with hands outstretched, reaching out to comfort, heal, bless, and love. And He always talked with, never down to, people. He loved the humble and the meek and walked among them, ministering to them and offering hope and salvation.

That is what He did during His mortal life; it is what He would be doing if He were living among us today; and it is what we should be doing as His disciples...

As we emulate His perfect example, our hands can become His hands; our eyes, His eyes; our heart, His heart.  … With this in mind, let our hearts and hands be stretched out in compassion toward others.

Christ knows how to minister to others perfectly. When the Savior stretches out His hands, those He touches are uplifted and become greater, stronger, and better people as a result.  If we are His hands, should we not do the same?

…As we extend our hands and hearts toward others in Christlike love, something wonderful happens to us. Our own spirits become healed, more refined, and stronger. We become happier, more peaceful, and more receptive to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit.

… let us commit to become His hands, that others through us may feel His loving embrace.” – (‘You are My Hands’, April 2010 General Conference)

As I look at this wonderful and humbling picture which my wife created, it gives me hope and purpose.  It moves me to repent and through His hands and Atonement become more pure and clean and a little better, despite my many imperfections.

I can by no means compare myself to the Savior, and would NEVER seek to do so.  But perhaps, with the help of His Mighty Hand, I can represent Him a little better through my own life and actions, despite my vast imperfections.

And to think that He loves me enough to give me opportunities to represent and serve others in His name, so that I can come to learn more about His love for me… well, that makes me love Him all the more!

Needed Repairs and Maintenance

Needed Repairs and Maintenance

            I drove by a place I have passed almost daily for many years now, but which I have often failed to pay attention to.  But this morning as I drove by, it caught my eye, and some simple yet profound thoughts came to me, so I stopped to take some pictures and share them for what they are worth.

            Some beautiful apartments were under construction during the building boom of 2008, when while only partially completed, the bottom fell out of the financial world and resources apparently came to a crashing end, leaving this once potentially attractive and financially productive venture incomplete.  Unable to sustain the project through to completion, the structures have now sat incomplete for the past nine years, with nothing but the wearing forces of weather, migrating birds, and scavenging varmints paying them much attention.  What has happened is rather sad to behold.

            The once sturdy frames and walls now provide only sagging support.

            The once dreamed of furnished interiors sit hollow and filled with debris.

            The views which once may have looked upon manicured lawns and flower beds now behold wanting scenes of overgrown weeds which choke the grounds of color and vitality.

            As sad as the apparent loss of financial investment and property values, what struck me was how these grounds mirror the souls of many individuals who walk among us and with whom we rub shoulders with in our daily lives.  They may be hollow, incomplete and suffering in silence.

           Often, as I do driving by these buildings each day, we hardly tend to cast a glance in their direction or notice their needs.  Instead we often look away to avoid what may otherwise be uncomfortable encounters outside of our structured lives and activities.

            What also dawns upon me is the realization that each and every one of us likely have places in our souls which we have neglected or ignored and which, without the needed attention, have fallen into disrepair and states of decay.  We may want to ignore those darker recesses within ourselves, or in society around us, but the simple fact is this – Unless we put effort into regular maintenance and repair, all things decay and degrade as a natural result.

            We cannot ignore the problems and degrading forces at work in our own lives or in society around us and expect them to somehow get better on their own.  The forces of nature, both physically and spiritually don’t work that way.  Things uncared for will ALWAYS progress from a state of organization into a state of chaos and decline.

            You can have a beautifully painted house, but if the interior walls are infested with mice and it doesn’t have functional plumbing or electricity, then it is pretty hard to live in with any measure of comfort or safety.  Instead, we must perform regular cleaning, maintenance, replace worn out parts with things that are newer and better.  We must dig out the weeds and plant flowers in their place, apply new paint where needed, vacuum and sweep out unwanted accumulations.  In essence, we must pay attention to things.  Especially those things of most importance.

            We often tend to ignore or neglect the “weightier matters” in our lives or the deeper spiritual areas of decay we suffer from.  Perhaps addressing those areas of need pulls us too far out of our comfort zone and will require significant effort to repair and upgrade and we just don’t feel we have the spiritual energy or resources to do it after the daily battles we fight.

            The first reality of the situation is, that in order to improve and progress, we must focus the needed energy and resources into those areas of decay to bring them into repair.  The other reality is, is that it is very difficult to help fill others needs if we are hollow and lacking in our own interior design.  The good news is we don’t have to do it alone, and it is totally worth the effort and investment!

            If we are willing to call upon other experts with the knowledge and skills to help us make those repairs properly, or at least teach us how to make those adjustments and repairs more efficiently, then the process can be much easier.  Family, friends, spiritual advisors and leaders can all help provide needed encouragement and suggestions to begin to overhaul, de-junk and commence the renovations we need.

            And if we really want to get serious about making complete interior and exterior designs to bring us up to our full potential and value, then we need to call in the Master Repairman, the Lord Himself.  He is truly the only one that can help us make more than just cosmetic improvements.  He has the skills, love, understanding and complete devotion and willingness to not just make a few repairs, but tear down the dilapidated parts of our souls and completely reconstruct them into something far grander and of greater worth than we can imagine.

C.S. Lewis put it very well when he said,

            If we can but open ourselves to Him, He will not only surgically cut out and remove those infected and infested parts of our souls, but will replace the worn out parts with major upgrades far beyond our expectations.  And a remarkable thing happens.  Along with those improvements He makes within ourselves, we begin to see how to help others and aspects of society around us with more clarity.

            So let us not ignore the aspects of our lives which need the closest attention, but instead open and embrace the necessary upgrades and all the comforts and benefits they have to offer.  It will perhaps be the greatest investment of time and energy that we can make.

What is the Purpose of Religion?

What is the Purpose of Religion?

          I had a small experience this past week that roused some questions in my mind about, what is the purpose of religion and in essence, what is the purpose of life.  It might come as a shock that these questions were brought about in response to someone broken down on the side of the road, but that’s how it happened.

          It should come as no big surprise to anyone who has read any of my previous blogs, that I am a Christian, and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon).  Well, this past Tuesday evening I was driving from my home into the town of Rexburg about 14 miles away for a church training meeting, when about a mile out of town I spotted a vehicle stopped at the side of the road, with the hood up.

          With the heavy flow or traffic for that time of evening, I passed the car and pulled over to the side of the road in front of them to see if I could help.  Leaving my own vehicle I walked back to the car with Montana license plates and found an upset African American lady, in a very nice dress, behind the wheel.

          “It looks like your night isn’t going according to your plans.” I offered to lighten the mood.  “Is there anything I can do to help?”

          She expressed her relief that I had stopped and stated, “Of all the cars that have passed me by over the past 20 or so minutes, only you and one other person have stopped and offered to help.”
          I asked her what she thought was wrong and she answered that she thought she had just run out of gas before being able to make it into town. She said the other man and his wife who had stopped by earlier had gone to get some for her, but she had been waiting for 15 minutes or so since they had left her.  I was the only other person to stop in that time.

          I asked what she had come down from Montana into Idaho for.  She stated that she had come down to speak at the Jehovah Witness’ Kingdom Hall that night.

          Just then the other middle aged man and his wife returned from town and pulled up behind her.  He was a Hispanic man and by the stickers on his truck I figured he was certainly a Catholic by religion.  He had driven into town, purchased a gas can, filled it at the station and returned to help.  We put the gas into her car, all the while as the Hispanic man refused her offers for any kind of reimbursement for his cost or efforts.

          We made sure her car got started and wished her well on her talk at her church.  The Hispanic man then thanked me for stopping to help (although I really hadn’t done anything) and then smiled and went on his way.

          As I got back into my own car and finished traveling to my own church meeting (now behind schedule and late), I couldn’t help but humbled and moved by the thoughts that came over me.  In those few moments a Mormon, a Jehovah’s Witness and a Catholic had intermingled on the side of a road, as a host of other people passed by on their own way.   And it made me wonder, what is the purpose of Religion, specifically Christianity but it could be any religion?

          Rexburg, Idaho is a predominantly, but not exclusively, Mormon community and in a way it saddened me that with all the people traveling by in the 30 minutes or more this woman had been broken down on the side of the road, that the only man who offered any real service or assistance was a Catholic.

          Now don’t get me wrong!  I am not saying anything against Catholics, Jehovah’s Witness’ or any other religion, or touting my own by what I am talking about here.  What I am talking about is that people of so many different religions, including my own, claim to be Christian, but probably fail to understand what that really means.

          We are all members of our various religious organizations and believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Redeemer… but the question is, what effect does that have on us and what is the meaning of it?

          Is our religion or church membership just a social organization to help us feel good about ourselves, or so that we can check our Sunday attendance off our “feel good” list each weekend, or does it actually affect some kind of change in us?

          One thing I know is that on that day, with everyone driving by (of what religious backgrounds I do not know) the one man who showed true Christian compassion, service and Christ-like behavior was a Catholic Hispanic man.

          Now that’s not to say that if we don’t stop to help everyone along our path that we are a bad person or not religious; in fact far from it.  Life demands us to make choices and we do have to work, provide for our own support and take care of personal needs and demands.  But what I talking about is the question of whether our religion actually changes us into something better than we are or were before?

          In my humble opinion, if a religion doesn’t inspire you to actually change your behavior on an ongoing basis into something more kind, loving, caring and willing to serve others… then either it isn’t much of a religion or you aren’t getting out of it what you should.

          The purpose of life is not to see “What’s in it for me?” or to see how many things we can acquire or how much wealth, fame or recognition we can receive.  Each and every one of us will have to leave all that behind when we die and pass on into the next realm beyond mortality.

          No, the purpose of life, which was created by God our loving Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ, is to create an experience where we can learn (by our own practice and through our own agency) how to become like them.  And if our religion isn’t inspiring that kind of change and behavior in us, as individuals, then we may want to question what is the purpose of religion in our lives.

          As for me, as I thoughtfully proceeded to my church meeting that night, and over the several days since then, have been left to ponder the question and come to the realization, that everything good that has ever happened in my life and any measure of good I have achieved as a person I can directly relate to the gospel of Jesus Christ and my membership in my church.

          I am far from reaching the spiritual progress and goals for which I am striving, but thanks to Jesus Christ, there is a path before me and He has shown the way.  He is the way the truth and the life.  And I am grateful for a Jehovah’s Witness, a Catholic and everyone else from all walks of life who I meet each day for reminding me of it.