All by Myself

Bible Reading: Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Peter 4:10-11

“Look at that cool tree house!” someone said.

“Yeah. That’s Liam Patterson’s,” came the reply. “He says he built it all by himself, but I doubt he could have done that.”

Sitting on the floor of his new hideout, Liam heard the words floating up from the street. He recognized the voices. It was Nick and Dylan.

“Liam’s dad is a carpenter, so he had all the tools and materials he needed,” Dylan said. “Besides, his dad probably did most of the work.”

Liam frowned at the backs of the two boys disappearing down the street. He did not! he thought. I built this tree house myself!

When Liam’s grandpa came the following week, Liam proudly showed him his tree house. “I built it all by myself,” Liam told him, “but some of the kids don’t believe me. They think Dad did most of it just because he’s a carpenter.”

“Don’t be upset with them,” said Grandpa. “After all, there are very few things we can do entirely alone without assistance from anyone else. In fact, I can’t think of any, can you?”

“How about driving your truck? You do that by yourself,” Liam argued.

“Oh, I have help with that too,” Grandpa replied. “The company I work for provides the truck for me. The government builds the highways I travel on. And a long, long time ago, my father taught me to drive. So you see, I’m dependent upon others for my job. I could never do it all by myself.”

Liam grinned. “All right, Grandpa, you win. Dad taught me how to build things and loaned me his tools. He also checked everything I did to make sure it was correct. We built this tree house together.”

Grandpa nodded. “That reminds me of another carpenter.”

“Another carpenter besides Dad?” Liam asked. “Who?”

“Jesus,” said Grandpa. “He worked as a carpenter too during His life on earth. He saved us from sin and equipped us to help Him with the greatest project of all time—building His kingdom. We couldn’t do anything good without Him, but we often forget to give Him the credit. Let’s remember to thank Him for everything we’re able to do.” -Barbara J. Westberg

How About You?

Do you think about all that’s required so you can do the things you do? You couldn’t ride a bike if no one put it together or taught you how to ride it in the first place! That’s even more true for our lives as Christians—we wouldn’t be able to do anything good if Jesus hadn’t saved us from sin and given us new hearts. When others notice good things you do, give Him the credit.

Today’s Key Verse:
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Today’s Key Thought:

Be thankful for what you can do