The Hand Song

by Don Harkey

God put a message into my heart this morning. I was listening to the "Hand Song" by Nickel Creek. The song is a story about a little boy who decides to give his mother a gift. He finds his mother's roses outside and picks them for her. Of course, he tears up his hands on the thorns as he picks the roses and then brings them to his mother. The song goes on, "and she knew it was love. It was one she could understand. He was showing his love and that's how he hurt his hands."

The next verse tells about the boy later sitting on his mother's lap reading the bible. When he sees a picture of Jesus, he yells out, "Mother, he's got scares just like me!". The chorus repeats, "and he knew it was love. It was one he could understand. He was showing his love and that's how he hurt his hands."

The last verse tells about the boy who had grown up to a young man when he was called into the service. We quickly find out that he dies in combat helping his brothers on the battlefield. Then we hear the chorus for the last time. "And he knew it was love. It was one he could understand. He was showing his love and that's how he hurt his hands."

I love the song and have heard it many times before, but today it is worthy of more of our attention. I was thinking about the role I play of Daddy to my two young kids. Last night, I was playing with my little girl on our bed and she looked at me and said, "Daddy, you are a best friend!". My son, who is a little older, sat next to me on the couch while the storms went through. It was clear that he felt safe sitting there right next to me.

When you think about that kind of love, you can begin to understand the love that Jesus had for us... and we put him on the cross to die for us. With all of the power of Earth and Heaven, he could have denied us the sacrifice. He was human. He felt pain and emotions like you and I do. He looked at the people he was trying to save as they spit at him and called for his unimaginable death and he did it anyway. He died on the cross for us, not because we deserve it, but because we don't.

I pray that every day I will remember that sacrifice. I pray that as I conduct business, plan, and worry about the future, I still keep one eye on the cross. May I honor him with my life and how I choose to live it, knowing that both life and choice are the greatest gifts ever given.