God’s Work. Our Hands.
Posted on Sep 08, 2021 by Rob Garza
September 12, 2021. This day is an opportunity to celebrate who we are as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America — one church, freed in Christ to serve and love our neighbor.
“God’s work. Our hands.” One can interpret that in so many ways, and for myself, when I first read the quote, I felt it means to help one another, which could be helping out at church, helping in the community, like the food pantry or HopeBUILDERS, to helping those in need. Most of us do this already; it’s part of what we have become, knowing what is right and it feels right.
I don’t think it’s something one has to do. I just enjoy helping because it makes me feel good. I don’t think if I help it will get me closer to God, though at times the expressions of kindness that are felt afterward can sometimes be very emotional, so I do feel closer to God.
But is that the meaning of “God’s work. Our hands”? I’m sure it plays a part in it, but I dug a little deeper into these words and went through different Bible verses that tie in this week's “God’s work. Our hands.” — Isaiah 50:4-9a, Psalm 116:1-9, James 3:1-12, and Mark 8:27-38. I read them several times trying to understand it better, which for me made it even more confusing.
Then I found it, and in one of my favorite books, in 2 Corinthians 3:18, where it says that we are being transformed from glory to glory — from the glory of man to the glory of God. And in 1 Corinthians 13:12, it is all there in broad generalities, but it is spelled out much more specifically throughout the rest of the Bible, in 1 John 3:2, and other parts of 1 and 2 Corinthians, God's purpose is for us to be in his image. God wants us to experience the love, joy, and peace that passes all understanding. His work is in our hands. We are to be one with God.
There are times when we see God, in what we do, how we share, and how we live. Sometimes we don’t see him; it’s like a steamy mirror in the shower. As we all become closer to God and live through him, in what he wants us all to experience and be, the mirror won’t be steamy and we will be able to see him all of the time.
Rob Garza
Salem Custodian and Digital Print Consultant at MEDiAHEAD