{"id":1373,"date":"2017-12-21T12:45:16","date_gmt":"2017-12-21T12:45:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theundergroundchurch.net\/blog\/?p=1373"},"modified":"2017-12-21T12:45:16","modified_gmt":"2017-12-21T12:45:16","slug":"being-the-hands-and-feet-of-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/theundergroundchurch.net\/blog\/2017\/12\/21\/being-the-hands-and-feet-of-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Being the Hands and Feet of God"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are God\u2019s Hands<\/p>\n

The other day I was dropping my son off at wrestling practice when a lyric from a song on the radio jumped out at me and grabbed my attention. It was from the Matthew West song \u201cDo Something.\u201d The singer describes awakening and seeing the moral evils of \u201ca world full of trouble,\u201d including poverty and children being sold into slavery.\u201d The following words grabbed my attention:<\/p>\n

The thought disgusted me
\nSo, I shook my fist at Heaven
\nSaid, \u201cGod, why don\u2019t You do something?\u201d
\nHe said, \u201cI did, I created you\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

This is s sobering reminder that we\u2013you and I\u2013are God\u2019s hands. If we are fulfilling God\u2019s mission for our lives then we are part of the body of Christ, the current physical manifestation of God on earth. Paul advises us of this in his first letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 12. An old Anglican prayer puts it so beautifully: \u201cWe are very members incorporate in the mystical body of thy son.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the first things that came to my memory as I drove away from the school was that joke, of unknown authorship, which I have heard more than once as a sermon illustration. It is called \u201cI sent you a rowboat\u201d.<\/p>\n

A very religious man was once caught in rising floodwaters. He climbed onto the roof of his house and trusted God to rescue him. A neighbour came by in a canoe and said, \u201cThe waters will soon be above your house. Hop in and we\u2019ll paddle to safety.\u201d
\n\u201cNo thanks\u201d replied the religious man. \u201cI\u2019ve prayed to God and I\u2019m sure he will save me\u201d<\/p>\n

A short time later the police came by in a boat. \u201cThe waters will soon be above your house. Hop in and we\u2019ll take you to safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo thanks\u201d replied the religious man. \u201cI\u2019ve prayed to God and I\u2019m sure he will save me\u201d<\/p>\n

A little time later a rescue services helicopter hovered overhead, let down a rope ladder and said. \u201cThe waters will soon be above your house. Climb the ladder and we\u2019ll fly you to safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo thanks\u201d replied the religious man. \u201cI\u2019ve prayed to God and I\u2019m sure he will save me\u201d<\/p>\n

All this time the floodwaters continued to rise, until soon they reached above the roof and the religious man drowned. When he arrived at heaven he demanded an audience with God. Ushered into God\u2019s throne room he said, \u201cLord, why am I here in heaven? I prayed for you to save me, I trusted you to save me from that flood.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes you did my child\u201d replied the Lord. \u201cAnd I sent you a canoe, a boat and a helicopter. But you never got in.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The corollary of this story would be this: Do you want God to rescue that man on the roof of his house? Then go grab your boat. Do you want God to do something about poverty and other ills? Find out what efforts might be underway already, and cooperate with the churches who are working in this area. Encourage and support others. One pastor elicited from me a large pledge and inspired me to launch this website\u2013to add my voice to the public square in some small way\u2013by simply inviting his audience in a sermon to \u201ctake the plunge\u201d. <\/p>\n

Is the problem that you have noticed, that is currently occupying your worries, something that no one else is trying to solve right now? Then, \u201ctag, you\u2019re it.\u201d Pray for empowerment. Then roll up your sleeves.<\/p>\n

C.S. Lewis had this to say about being the body of Christ, in his book Mere Christianity<\/em>:<\/p>\n

Is it not frightfully unfair that this new life should be confined to people who have heard of Christ and been able to believe in Him? But the truth is God has not told us what His arrangements about the other people are. We do know that no man can be saved except through Christ; we do not know that only those who know Him can be saved by Him. But in the meantime, if you are worried about the people outside, the most unreasonable thing you can do is remain outside yourself. Christians are Christ\u2019s body, the organism through which He works. Every addition to that body enables Him to do more. If you want to help those outside you must add your little cell to the body of Christ who alone can help them. Cutting off a man\u2019s fingers would be an odd way of getting him to do more. <\/em>(pg. 64)<\/p>\n

(Image credit: \u201cJesus Christ\u2013Christus Statue\u201d, Jan 2006, posted at FLICKR<\/a>, by midiman, available under Creative Commons license).<\/body><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"