We are his hands; we are his feet
By MaryJo – A Pilgrim Ponders
Are you a Bible-believing Christian? A Urantia Book reading Jesusonian? Do you believe that the Spirit of Truth is real? Do you believe that this Spirit inspires us to act in Godly ways and minister as Jesus did: as we pass by? This Christian-oriented article: A thrilling Christianity vs. a boring one by Nolan Harkness caught my eye. My Urantia Book-based blog follows below. But first, here’s a tantalizer from the article, which I recommend…
“To me there is nothing more exciting in all of Christian-dom than to be led by the Spirit of God. The scriptures declare that “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” (Romans 8:14 KJV)
“…how sad it is to see professing believers stuck in a religious rut. Boring, boring, boring! I was asked some time ago to teach the Adult Sunday School class in my home church. The topics were revival and being revived by the Holy Spirit in our personal lives. One morning I asked the question, “How many of can aremember when God recently impressed on our hearts something specific He wanted us to do?”
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We are his hands; we are his feet
A dear friend and spiritual sister of mine who has since passed away said something to me once that has stuck with me for many years. Every time I think of her now, I remember it. She said: “We are His hands; we are His feet.” And I take that to mean that we are to follow God’s lead in life; we are to perform his holy will, which is always good, always helpful, always joyful. And we are to do it with willing hearts and deliberate intent. If not us, who?
And reading this article, I recalled an incident that happened in my life recently. I’d like to share it with you as a way of inspiration for your own life.
For a couple of years now, I have been a volunteer driver for my local Meals on Wheels organization. I have found it to be a satisfying and really fun way to do some service in my community. It’s not for everyone, but for a retiree like me, it fits really well. I meet a lot of people, both other drivers and clients. One day, I delivered a meal to a dear soul who was a regular on my route.
I had known her for many months; she and I shared a love of God, of Jesus, and we always had a nice visit on my delivery day. This day, my client seemed very different – not at all herself, and I was concerned; so I notified the office, and sure enough…they did a welfare check on her that day and it turned out that she had had a stroke, and as a result, she was hospitalized for many weeks and was consequently removed from the meals program.
A few weeks later, my route got changed, so that even when she did come back, she would be on someone else’s route. I kept getting the idea that I should just stop in and see her – let her know that I had been thinking of her. I resisted that idea for another week or so, but it kept coming to my mind until one day I just decided to go over there and see her. I bought a little bouquet of flowers and a chocolate bar and drove over. But she wasn’t home!
I was disappointed, and I sat in the car for a few minutes, thinking about it and asking God if I had misread the prompt in my inner spirit. After thinking it over, I decided to just leave and try again another day, but as I turned the corner and her house disappeared from view, I suddenly decided to go around the block and check just once more. Honestly, it was as if someone else took the wheel. And at just that moment, she came walking across the street!
When she saw me, she broke into a grin and we embraced and ended up having a good long visit, during which she shared with me that she was really down on her luck. Her car was not working, her finances were stressed, and she was stuck at home; but her biggest concern was that her phone was out of minutes and she really felt stranded and out of touch. She desperately needed to get up to the WalMart for a phone card so she could stay in touch with her family and friends and doctors. We got in the car and went over to the shopping center and I was able to get that phone card for her. She was so happy! And I thought…if I had not come back around the corner, I would have missed her and missed the chance to be of service to her that day…a service she really needed. “Something” told me to go see her that day…”something” told me to turn the car around and go back.
I am a great believer in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, and the leading of the indwelling spirit of God (the Thought Adjuster) in my mind. Are you? I truly believe that either one or all of those spirit presences inspired me to do the right thing that day, and I am so very grateful.
Making our religion come alive
Do you want your religion to be a more exciting and engaging part of your life? Are you desirous of being his hands, being his feet in the world? Engaging with God like that in my life is very important to me – I do believe that when we wish to help, when we wish to witness, when we wish to serve – God honors our desires and gives us the chance to act for him – for service to others IS part of his will for us. Moreover, an experience like this is an evidence to me that following Jesus’ religion of personal spiritual experience is the very best kind of religion there can be. It really does feel like a partnership with God – because it IS!
The Urantia Book teaches us that “…religion is not merely a passive feeling of ‘absolute dependence’ and ‘surety of survival’; it is a living and dynamic experience of divinity attainment predicated on humanity service.”
And Jesus advised us about that too. He said:
“When the feelings of service for your fellow men arise within your soul, do not stifle them; when the emotions of love for your neighbor well up within your heart, give expression to such urges of affection in intelligent ministry to the real needs of your fellows.”
Jesus’ simple gospel of the Kingdom which declares that we are all children of God, with the resulting truth that we are all brothers and sisters of that same God – is our mandate to serve those sisters and brothers, as Jesus did. In his life and teachings, we see his example over and over. His practice of doing good “as he passed by” is a call for us to go and do likewise. And in doing so, we can experience a joy that is thrilling and very satisfying to our souls. There is little else in the world that can provide the kind of joy one feels when one has been of some service to another. It can make a bad day good, a low spirit soar, a resentful attitude joyful.
Are you ready to be transformed?
The Urantia Book teaches:
“The religion of Jesus does, indeed, dominate and transform its believers, demanding that men dedicate their lives to seeking for a knowledge of the will of the Father in heaven and requiring that the energies of living be consecrated to the unselfish service of the brotherhood of man.”
How many ways can we think of to serve as we pass by? Maybe you’re not in a position to deliver Meals on Wheels, but if we spend any time out in the world, we can always greet everyone with a smile; we can always be a listening ear for someone, we can always extend courtesy and consideration, even when we don’t receive it. But most importantly, we can pray for – and look for – the chance to be of service. I truly believe that when we express that desire, God opens the door for us. What will your door look like?
All we have to do is listen and let him be the lamp unto our feet, directing our paths…adding the thrill of service can make our religion come alive with new meaning! And isn’t that what we are here to do? But be aware…if you are sincere and you ask, be ready to swing into service!
