How I Used Truth - Lesson 6 - Annotation 3
Why do we say that our hands represent the "hand of God"?
3. Our hands represent the "hand of God" because we are co-workers with God to "hand out" His blessings. As sons of God, we are privileged to give to all creation the love, peace, joy, power, faith and all the other ideas (qualities) that belong to our divine inheritance.
As pointed out earlier in this lesson, the hand is the symbol of the power of the mind to grasp and handle an idea and to "hand" it on to others by various means of communication. Man alone can lay hold of an idea, analyze it from all angles, examine and determine its value. The result of such mental action is a "thought form," a mental picture or concept. By right application of our mental powers we may learn how to use ideas for the betterment of humanity, and of every species of creation.
As the image-likeness of God, we are continually being inspired by God with new ideas. Through conscious communion with God in the process we term prayer, we learn of God's plan or will for creation. Therefore, we come to see that we are the "hand of God" or God's working power in the visible realm. Cognizant of the Truth, and of our part in God's plan, we are able to carry out with skill, power and wisdom all that God has planned for the fulfillment of the manifest realm.
A wonderful thought
In the dawn was given
. . .
That a secret plan
Is hid in my hand
. . .
That God
Who dwells in my hand
Knows this secret plan
Of the things He will do
For the world
Using my hand.
-- Toyohiko Kagawa
In order to fulfill our mission on earth, we need to seek God often in prayer. As willing and obedient children of God, we become receptive to what the Father has to say to us in the moments spent in the silence. As the "hand of God" our next step is to bring into manifestation what God has revealed to us in the "secret place of the Most High" (Psalms 91:1).
"Your hand bears the imprint of your character, your individuality. It also bears the imprint of your heart, life, and mind. It represents the acme of faith that can lay hold of all good, the essence of love that can dispense all good, the purpose of life that has its foundation in the law of giving and receiving. Your hand is fashioned to carry out in the world about you the creative law of divine order, harmony, and beauty" (You Can Be Healed 131-132).
Spiritually, mentally, arid physically we are channels for God's love to pour forth upon creation, in the particular place where we find ourselves. The businessman may be the "hand of God" bringing fairness, success and abundance. The doctor, the nurse or the welfare worker may be the "hand of God" to heal, to comfort, to help others. The parent is the "hand of God" to guard, to feed and clothe, to nurture God's little ones. The musician, the artist, the sculptor, the architect may each in turn be the "hand of God" to bring beauty, order, happiness, comfort to that part of man's nature that does not "live by bread alone" (Matt. 4:4). A previous lesson in this course pointed out the value of work. Our hands, through whatever channel of work may be ours at any given time, become the "hand of God" bringing His will, His kingdom "as in heaven, so on earth."
"Can your life be separated from the life of God? Is your mind a thinking apparatus independent of Divine Mind? Can your heart be isolated from the infinite heart of divine love? No; nor are your hands distinct from the hand of God.
"Your hands are God's hands, ready and capable of performing perfect service. Bless them and let them carry out His excellent plans. Love them and let them work for God, for humanity, for your family, for you. Do not drive them, force them, abuse them, or think of them as gnarled, crooked, hard, rough, or unlovely. Praise your hands, appreciate them, thank God for perfect hands" (You Can Be Healed 131).
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Preceding Entry: Why do we sometimes feel that we are "empty-handed"?
Following Entry: When do our hands serve as the "hand of God"?
