The work of their hands
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Illustration by Klara Gryglicka
In this series
Introduction
The Work of Their Hands
Kate Rodemann
His Patients Call Him ‘Mr. Fix-It-All’
The Chef Who Flies in Lobster to the Farmlands
May Your House Lack No Coffee Nor Peace
The Architect Who Answers to a Higher Blueprint
Greek philosophers conceived of the divine as philosophical abstraction: a cosmic principle that held together the fabric of the universe. In the poetic imagination of Hebrew writers, however, the divine was also irrepressibly, exuberantly tactile. This God got his hands dirty: He shaped clay. He planted gardens. He marked out foundations. He stretched out heavens. This God eventually took on flesh and bones, broke into material history, and became literally tactile. He sanded wood. He repaired broken bodies. He cooked breakfast. He hugged kids. “See my hands,” he said to his struggling friends (John 20:27). Touch me.
In this age of abstraction—our lives defined by algorithms, large language models, automation—the truth of our incarnate God is a reminder that he invites us to bless his good world not just with our minds but also with our bodies. With our hands. As Labor Day approached, we spoke to Christians whose vocations offer a picture of God’s own physical, manual work. One assembles delectable meals for those who hunger. One supports healing for afflicted bodies. Two meticulously roast coffee beans to extract both flavor and meaning for the people in their neighborhood. One designs shelter. Together they help refresh our own calling in the world to feed, repair, build, and cultivate—and delight, as God does, in our labor.
Kate Rodemann is associate editor at Christianity Today.
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This article appeared in the September/October 2026 issue of Christianity Today as "The Work of Our Hands".
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Related
### His Patients Call Him ‘Mr. Fix-It-All’
### The Chef Who Flies in Lobster to the Farmlands
### May Your House Lack No Coffee Nor Peace
### The Architect Who Answers to a Higher Blueprint
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