Men of ObedienceSampel

Car Guys

At 17, I spent a couple of days working in my friend’s mechanic shop. I’m not a car guy and never have been. In my brief apprenticeship, I changed some oil, fixed a couple of leaking tires, and whined to my boss about the stench of differential fluid while changing it.

I learned a few things in those days; I still change my own tires. The car guys are rolling their eyes at me right now—as we all know, changing tires is hardly worth putting on my resume.

Here’s the point: My brief discipleship under that mechanic led to some real learning.

Men, has your discipleship to Christ led to real learning?

Among the best modern translations of what Jesus and the Jews of His era called discipleship is “apprenticeship.” It’s not perfect, but it avoids many potholes.

What have you learned to do in your apprenticeship to Jesus that you didn’t or couldn’t do before?

Which logs have you taken out of your own eye? Are you usually more focused on that than the speck in your boss’, spouse’s, or prime minister’s eyes?

Have you set aside anger in every ungodly form?

How’s your journey with lust—when you look around, do you see daughters of God or objects of desire?

Has an enjoyable and powerful prayer life supplanted some of your scrolling?

What have you learned to do in your apprenticeship to Jesus that you couldn’t do before?

Discipleship in the West is often treated as information-gathering; we flock to sermons and studies, much like someone might watch YouTube clips about fixing cars.

But you identify a good mechanic by his ability to actually fix cars, not by how many videos he’s watched about cars.

Jesus said you identify a Christian by their love (John 13:35). How’s your apprenticeship going? Does sacrificial love flow from you as effortlessly and easily as a real mechanic changes tires and brakes?

Following Jesus will lead to more knowledge and more obedience. A fourth-year mechanic apprentice should know things about cars and be able to fix them in a way that a first-year can’t.

Our doing and obeying must keep up with our knowing.

We’re apprenticed to Jesus, so let’s give Him the last word:

“Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house upon the rock.” (Matthew 7:24, emphasis added.)

Prayer: Lord, show me my next step of obedience. (Pause for a moment and see what comes to mind. If nothing does, choose an obvious step of loving another.) Jesus, give me strength to do what You just pointed me to. Amen.

Reflection: Read the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 and note anything Jesus teaches there that you’ve actually learned to do and are doing. Consider how you might focus on this kind of learning and help your Christian community be a place that celebrates learners at every level who are growing in their apprenticeship to Jesus.