God at Work on Human Life
By Jon Walker
I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. John 13:15 (NIV)
Fred was under my car. It needed new brake pads and I couldn’t afford to pay a mechanic. The car had a rusted undercarriage and smelled of mildew, but I was grateful just to have some form of transportation.
In the heat and smudged with grease, Fred stayed steadily at it, even when we realized just about all the parts we needed to detach were rusted together, requiring some ingenuity and brute force.
And as we worked, we talked. We shared our stories of the faithful, hopeful, loving Christ and how he has transformed our lives. In that afternoon, Fred became a living example of faithful work, loving deeds, and continual anticipation of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ (based in 1 Thessalonians 1:3 NLT).
Fred’s example was an echo of Jesus, who, after washing the disciples’ feet, said, in essence, “Look at my life—this is what God at work in a human life looks like” (paraphrase of John 13:12–17).
Fred was under my car. Fred was my pastor. Jesus said, “I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you” (John 13:15 NLT).
If you’d like to receive these devotionals regularly, you can sign-up at www.gracecreates.com/subscribe/. Jon Walker writes from www.gracecreates.com. He is a Zondervan author, and the former writer/editor of the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2008 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.
