NO HANDS BUT YOURS

In the courtyard of a quaint little church in a French village was standing a beautiful marble statue of Jesus with his hands outstretched. One day during the war, a bomb struck close to the statue and severely damaged it. After the battle was over, the citizens of the village decided to find the pieces of their beloved statue and reconstruct it.

Patiently they gathered broken pieces and reassembled it. Even the scars on the body added to the beauty of the statue. But there was one problem. They were unable to find the hands of the statue. "A Christ without hands is no Christ at all," someone lamented. "Hands with scars, yes. But what’s a Lord without hands? We need a new statue."

Then someone else came up with another idea that appealed to the people. A brass plaque was attached at the base of the statue which read: "I HAVE NO HANDS BUT YOUR HANDS." A few years later someone saw that inscription and wrote these famous words, which we all should take seriously:

I have no hands but your hands to do my work today.

I have no feet but your feet to lead men on the way.

I have no tongue but your tongue to tell men how I died.

I have no help but your help to bring men to God’s side.