Loving Hands That Save
A loving mother who saved her little girl from a burning house suffered severe burns to her hands and arms. When the girl grew older, not knowing how her mother's arms had become so seared, the girl was ashamed of those scarred, gnarled hands and always insisted that her mother wear long gloves to cover up the ugliness.
But one day, the daughter asked her mother how her hands had become so scarred. The mother, for the first time, told her the story of how she had saved the daughter's life with those hands. The daughter wept tears of gratitude and said, "Oh, Mother, those are beautiful hands, the most beautiful in the world. Don't ever hide them again!"
Just so, the blood of Christ may seem to be a grim, repulsive subject to those who do not realise its true significance; but to those who have been rescued from sin's chains, Christ's nail-pierced hands are beautiful, for they tell us of His love and His willingness to save us regardless of the cost.
"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:7a)