July 15th 2025
From the book
Our Daily Bread — Emmanuel
Chapter 90
The Divine Worker
“He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. He will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.” — John the Baptist (LUKE 3:17)
1. Apostles and followers of Christ, since the earliest organizations of the evangelical movement, have referred to Him by various names.
2. Jesus was called the Master, the Shepherd, the Messiah, the Savior, the Prince of Peace.
All these titles are just and venerable; however, we must not forget, alongside these sublime invocations, that unexpected portrayal by the Baptist.
3. The Forerunner describes Him as a watchful worker who holds the winnowing fork in His hands, who will clear the hard and uncultivated ground, who will gather the wheat at the proper time, and who will purify the refuse with the flame of justice and love that never dies.
4. It is interesting to note that John does not present the Lord wielding laws, full of decrees and scrolls, nor does he refer to Him according to old Jewish traditions, which awaited the Divine Messenger in a chariot of magnificent glories.
5 He refers to the selfless and optimistic worker.
The rustic winnowing fork does not rest by His side, but remains watchful in His hands, and in His spirit reigns the hope of cleansing the land entrusted to Him according to saving principles.
6. All of you who are engaged in earthly labors for a better era, keep alive in your hearts the devotion to the cause of Christ's Gospel.
7. Let not difficulties or ingratitude hinder us.
8. Let us unfold our activities under the precious encouragement of faith, for with us, leading the way and blessing our humble cooperation, is that Divine Worker who will cleanse the world's threshing floor.
— Emmanuel
Text taken from the 1st edition of this book.
The Divine Worker and the Human Workers
1. The Parable of the Old Man, the Little Donkey, and the Spirit of Service
Once upon a time, there was a simple man who spent his days crossing dirt roads with his old little donkey.
On the animal’s back, he carried a bag of medicines — teas, ointments, syrups, which he himself prepared — and he distributed them through villages and huts forgotten by the world.
He had been doing this for many years, at a low price, and sharing words of love and confort for all people.
His little donkey was stubborn. Sometimes it would stop in the middle of the trail.
Other times it relieved itself inside the house, causing more work for the old man.
But even so, the man continued.
He knew that without that little donkey, he could not fulfill his mission.
One day, already tired, worn down by time and by his own mistakes, the man knelt and said:
— Lord… I am imperfect, I am a sinner. I want to stop. I feel that I am not worthy to continue this work. Maybe the Lord should choose someone better.
That night, he fell asleep crying. And in a dream, he saw an angel who said to him:
— Brother, you know your little donkey well, don’t you?
— Yes, of course… — the man replied. — It is stubborn, obstinate, it stops, sometimes it even makes a mess inside the house… but it is the only one I have.
The angel smiled and answered sweetly:
— Well, so you are before God. Stubborn, limited, imperfect… but necessary.
Because even with all difficulties, it is through you that many lives have been saved.
Children have been medicated, the elderly calmed, families helped.
If you stopped, who would bring the relief that only you bring?
The man cried silently.
— God does not choose the perfect — said the angel. — He chooses the willing.
The world still needs you.
Upon waking, the old man rose with new courage.
He caressed the donkey’s neck and, with a light heart, returned to the road.
He knew now that, even with his imperfections, his help was valuable in the Lord’s work.
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Moral of the story:
God knows our limitations, but still counts on us.
Without our effort, however simple it may seem, many good works would cease to happen.
The spirit of service, sustained by love and faith, is more important than perfection or our sins or mistakes.
Parable 2: The Pestilence in the Valley
There was a pestilence in a distant valley, and the king sent several rescue teams with medicines.
But on the way, they began to argue about which was the fastest way to reach the valley of death.
After days of disagreement, they split up and each took their own path.
When they arrived, it was too late.
Everyone was already dead, and there was nothing left to do.
Moral of the story
Is that they did not complete the mission because of pride, and thousands of lives that must and could have been saved were lost.
Parable 3: The King’s Three Sons
The king, a father, sent three sons as messengers to bring gifts to the sovereign of the neighboring country, with the aim of choosing which of them would succeed him on the throne.
To the eldest son, he gave a precious cake, a lofty delicacy on a golden tray.
To the middle son, he entrusted a rare and precious gazelle.
To the youngest, he gave an alabaster jar containing a rare and extremely expensive perfume.
They were given an urgent deadline not to miss the neighboring king’s birthday.
Along the way, the younger brothers began to criticize the eldest, saying the cake was leaning and was going to fall.
The eldest got irritated and replied that they didn’t know how to handle the skittish gazelle, which could escape at any moment.
The argument escalated, the gazelle got frightened and bolted toward the forest.
The middle brother ran after it, but the rope tied to his belt tangled around the youngest brother’s legs, and he fell.
As he fell, the precious jar struck a rock, shattered, and the priceless perfume spilled into the earth, lost forever.
The eldest brother, trying to help, run into the forest and stumbled, raand the precious cake fell from the golden tray and smashed on the ground.
The three brothers, frustrated and defeated, returned to their father’s house.
They were sternly reprimanded.
None of them was considered worthy of the throne, to the great disappointment of the dying king.
In the face of the failure, the king appointed a wise man as interim governor until one of the sons, through humility and maturity, could prove himself worthy of the mission.
Moral of the story
Each one should focus on their own mission instead of fighting and criticizing the work of the others.
Parable 4: The Value of LOVE and Mutual Help
Two old friends were traveling on foot through a snowstorm at night, seeking shelter in a distant city.
Suddenly, the snowstorm hit, the temperature was freezing, and the cutting wind made it hard to walk and breathe.
In the dark, by the roadside, they saw a boy of about five years old, exhausted and unconscious, almost dead.
One said: “Let’s take the child.”
The other harshly said: “No, I am sick and exhausted, I’m not going to carry anyone.” He is not my problem. And he left alone.
The good-hearted man took the child in his arms, hugged him close inside his torn coat, and moved slowly, fighting death with every step.
After a lot of time, he reached the city, still holding the precious burden.
At the inn, he asked about the friend. He was not there.
The next day, he went to look for him and found the selfish traveler fallen in a ditch, dead and frozen.
In the dark and alone, the other traveler got lost, while the good-hearted traveler, warmed by the child’s heat and by the love in his heart, defeated death and reached his destination.
Moral of the story
This is the value of love and mutual help: the warm of the Child's bodie keept both alive.
Alone they will not survive.
A Prayer for all
Lord of Life,
You are the Love that sees all, understands all, and embraces all.
Today I come to You in prayer for all of us who weep in silence:
– For those rejected not for what they do, but for who they are.
– For those who gave themselves freely, yet reaped contempt.
– For those who age without applause, with empty hands and given their hearts.
I pray, Lord, also for those who were abandoned by churches, by family, by friends by systems — but whom You have never forsaken.
I pray for all who have carried the Gospel not from pulpits, but through silent acts of love.
I pray for those who suffer religious intolerance, exclusion, prejudice, and division — which are the opposite of Your doctrine of love, inclusion, forgiveness and reconciliation.
I pray for all who follow You by other names, through other paths, in other faiths, but who love, forgive, serve, and build peace.
I pray, Lord, for those who are alone, sick, and discouraged, that they may be renewed in faith, in prayer, and in the certainty that:
– Our journey is long, but not in vain.
– We are eternal spirits, deeply loved by You.
– We were created simple and ignorant, but gifted with free will to choose goodness, until, weary of suffering, we cry out for Your love.
I pray for those who still see themselves as lost, and also for those who pass judgment.
And I plead, Lord, that Your Light shine upon us, dissolving the darkness, enlightening hearts and minds, bringing reconciliation, mutual understanding, and unity, so that Your work may be done according to Your will, not ours.
Lord, deliver us from every theological misconception — man’s creation, not Yours — that teaches hell as an irreversible destiny.
Deliver us from the doctrine of sin as a permanent sentence.
Give us Your mercy and Your forgiveness.
Lord, make us an instrument of Your peace and justice
Where there is hatred, let we sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is discord, union;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is error, truth;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is sadness, joy;
Where there is darkness, light.
O Divine Master, grant that we may not so much seek:
To be consoled, as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
For it is in pardoning that we are forgiven,
And it is by dying in this world that we are reborn into our true spiritual homeland,
To continue our journey and our tasks in the spiritual life,
Together with those who love us and help us at every moment with their prayers.
May God bless us, enlighten us, protect us, and prosper the work of our hands and give us Victory.
Glory to God.
Praised and exalted be the name of the Lord.
Amen.
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