Jesus walked into a synagogue and there was a man there “who had a withered hand.” Religious people watched Jesus to see how He would respond. It was the Sabbath and they saw Jesus’ healing the man as work. Jesus said to the man, “step forward.” After some dialogue with the religious people, Jesus looked at the man, and said, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. (This story comes from Mark 3:1-5)
Fast forward 2,000 or so years, to the story of a British youth, Matthew James. Recently, Matthew wrote a letter to a professional Mercedes race car team. Now, the 14-year-old is now the proud wearer of “the most advanced prosthetic limb in the world” valued at around $57,000.
Today, advertising is everywhere. Would Mercedes have helped the boy without putting their logo on the bionic hand? Only God knows. It is admirable what Mercedes did for the boy: partially funding the hand – also, according to the TODAY article, they helped design the hand along with Touch Bionics.
At YouthHOPE, we believe in the power of youth. We are excited for Matthew James! This is an amazing story of how God gave a 14 yr. old a voice with one of the most successful car companies in the world. The question though is: who gets the glory? We have arrived in an age where man can create a limb for about the price of a high-end automobile. That’s impressive, yet it pales in comparison to the Truth of what Jesus did in Mark 3. Think about it. Jesus didn’t write a letter, fund a miracle, consult a team, get a grant, nothing. He simply spoke.
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Church needs to find ways to tap into the creativeness and willingness to attempt seemingly impossible things that come so naturally to youth like Matthew. Lots of adults or those in power positions would have told him to not waste his time writing a huge company like Mercedes. Great story.
Good call Joseph!