The Rough, Calloused Hands of a Working Father

A young man went to seek an important position at a large printing company. He passed the initial interview and was going to meet the director for the final interview. The director saw his resume, it was excellent. “Have you received a scholarship for school?” The boy replied, “No.”
“It was your father who paid for your studies?”
“Yes.” He replied.
“Where does your father work?”
“My father is a Blacksmith.”
The Director asked the young man to show him his hands. The young man showed a pair of hands soft and perfect. “Have you ever helped your parents at their job?”
“Never, my parents always wanted me to study and read more books. Besides, he can do the job better than me.”
The director said, “I have got a request: When you go home today, go and wash the hands of your father and then come see me tomorrow morning.”
When he returned to his house he asked his father if he would allow him to wash his hands.
His father felt strange, happy, but with mixed feelings and showed his hands to his son. The young man washed his father’s hands, little by little. It was the first time that he noticed his father’s hands were wrinkled and they had so many scars. Some bruises were so painful that his father shuddered when he touched them.
This was the first time that the young man recognized what it meant for this pair of hands to work every day to be able to pay for his studies. The bruises on the hands were the price that he paid for their son’s education, his school activities and his future.
After cleaning his father’s hands the young man stood in silence and began to tidy and clean up the workshop. That night, father and son talked for a long time.
The next morning, the young man went to the office of the director.
The Director noticed the tears in the eyes of the young when He asked him, “Can you tell me what you did and what you learned yesterday at your house?”
The boy replied, “I washed my father’s hands and when I finished I stayed and cleaned his workshop.
Now I know what it is to appreciate and recognize that without my parents, I would not be who I am today. By helping my father, I now realize how difficult and hard it is to do something on my own. I have come to appreciate the importance and the value in helping the family.”
The director said, “This is what I look for in my people. I want to hire someone who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the hardship of others to do things, and a person who does not put money as his only goal in life. You are hired.”

What could you learn by washing the hands of the person(s) whom have made it possible for you to be who you are today? God has created you and me in His own image. His desire for you is greater than your own desire. In fact, He sent His one and only son to give you the opportunity to experience the very best you possible.

If you had the opportunity to wash the nail scarred, working hands of Jesus Christ, what would be your reaction? Would there be tears in your eyes as in this young man in the story above?