My Grandpa Duncan was born with two good hands. He made use of them as a farmer for several decades. But one day, when he was bailing hay, the hay bailer became jammed. Always in a hurry, Grandpa didn't bother to shut it down before attempting to un-jam it. Bad idea. The fingers of his right hand became stuck in the machinery. Soon, his entire hand and arm were pulled into the bailer, mangling flesh, crunching bones, and snapping tendons. He narrowly escaped bleeding to death, but his arm was too badly damaged to be saved. The doctors amputated his right arm just below his shoulder.

For the next four decades, my grandpa, who had been right-handed, functioned with just his left hand. I was always amazed at what he could accomplish with just that one hand. But of course, there were many things he couldn't do.

If you have the use of a left and right hand, give thanks to God for that blessing. We depend on two good hands. So does God. Although he doesn't literally have hands, in a sense, God has a left and a right hand. It was Martin Luther who first made that analogy. Luther noted that God rules over and cares for the world he created in two different ways. He rules and cares for his earthly kingdom (which Luther referred to as his “left-handed kingdom") by means of governments that he has established. And he cares for his spiritual kingdom (his “right-handed kingdom”) through his grace. So we can think of governments as God's left hand, and the Church, that is, all believers in Christ everywhere whom he has entrusted with his gospel, as his right hand.

God's left and right hands have very different functions. The left hand of God, the government, has been charged with providing law and order, dispensing justice, and preserving peace. St. Paul speaks of this truth in Romans chapter 13, where he writes, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. (The governing authority) is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.”

God's right hand has been given a very different purpose. God has entrusted his Church with the task of proclaiming the gospel to all nations for the purpose of bringing people to faith in their Savior and saving them.

Kindergartners often get their left and right hands mixed up. Sadly, some Christians do the same when it comes to God's right and left hands. For example, it's a mistake (albeit a well-intentioned mistake) for Christians to look to government-run public schools to teach Biblical truth or lead students in Christian prayer. Those are right-hand jobs. It's also wrong for Christian churches to make their goal promoting social justice or getting involved in politics. Those are left-handed jobs, not right-handed.

The job of Christians and Christian churches is more far-reaching than merely seeing to the physical well-being of people. We're here to look after people's eternal well-being by leading them to Christ. Doing so actually makes us God's right hand.

Thank God for your left and right hands. Thank God for his left and right hands.



— Brent Merten is pastor of Mountain Valley Lutheran Church, 802 Brush Creek Terrace, Eagle.