Vujicic - Be the Hands and Feet: Living Out Gods Love for All His Children

Christ has no body but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which he looks

Compassion on this world.

Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,

Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.

S AINT T ERESA OF A VILA, C HRIST H AS N O B ODY

Your first thought upon picking up this book is probably, How can a person born without any limbs consider himself to be the hands and feet of Jesus on earth?

I agree, hands down, that this is a very good question. I asked myself the same thing many times as I was growing up. What purpose could God have for a man with no limbs?

The above quotation from Saint Teresa of Avila had a huge impact on me, as you might imagine. Her words provided one of the many steps I took to finding my purpose as an inspirational speaker and Christian role model who shares his faith with others. I cant do everything, but I do whatever I can to compel people to fill Gods house. This is what we are meant to do as Christians, all of us.

The truth of who we are is how we live day to day. If you want to influence others, the most important thing you can do is be a living example of the principles, ideals, and faith that you advocate. This is especially true for Christians. The best way to share your beliefs with others is to live according to your faith when you are under pressure, when challenges arise, and even when life seems to be piling one hardship upon another on you.

Those around you watch and take note of how you respond to lifes toughest times. They observe how you love and treat others. They judge your authenticity by how you handle yourself and whether you live up to your claims when the dark days descend.

Part of wisdom is knowing when to react strongly and when to let things pass. Its not about putting up a brave front or a steely smile or being positive just for appearances sake. Its about drawing strength from deep within and, rather than wallowing in despair, taking one step at a time in positive directions.

Ive written and spoken often of the challenges Ive faced in life because I was shorted the standard allotment of limbs at birth. In describing my journey, Ive noted my early crisis of faith, my despair and depression that led to an attempted suicide, and how I eventually came to understand that I was not Gods mistake but instead that God did have a plan and a purpose for His perfectly imperfect child.

My life story has been well chronicled in my earlier books, in my fathers book about raising me, and in my many speeches and videos. This book covers some recent major eventsand a few scaresin my life, but it is more about my lifes work, how I found my calling as the hands and feet of Jesus on earth, how a few recent challenges have affirmed and strengthened that calling, and how I think you and I can expand our influence and bring more of Gods children to Him by living our faith and inspiring, loving, and serving others.

I thought about calling this book Adventures in Evangelism, but unfortunately, the term evangelism has been tarnished with negative connotations over the years in some areas of the world. I get it.

Too many people have been put off by overzealous Christians who probably had good intentions but reached out with poorly conceived strategies. They may have come across as pushy or more concerned about their agendas than the feelings and beliefs of those they approached.

I believe all Christians have a responsibility to share their faith and bring others to Christ. His followers are, after all, fishers of men and women. We cant just be passengers in the boat. We need to cast our lines, because there is an ocean of people out there who need the redemptive power of Gods love. My hope is that this book will inspire you to find your own way to do that in a manner that best suits you and best serves our heavenly Father.

There are many praying for revival, another word actually that has been overused, particularly in the US and other western parts of the globe. What does that revival even look like? I personally just want to fulfill the mandate to preach the gospel and see people come to Jesus, start an active relationship with Him, be transformed by that daily, and become true followers of Him.

Many await a movement, when actually the basic thing God has asked of usto tell others that He livesdoesnt always happen. We say, God move. God says, I will move through you when you move.

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CALLED TO SERVE

I certainly didnt start out thinking I would be Gods hands and feet, an evangelist proclaiming the good news. In fact, even though I grew up in a strong Christian family with a father who was a lay pastor, I confess I was among those teenagers who shunned the God squad in school for a time. I wanted to be cool, and talking about your faith to other teens wasnt considered cool at all.