"He Did What He Was Supposed to Do."

As Derek Bockheim was driving along a highway in western Michigan, he witnessed a Jeep Wagoneer collide head-on with a Lexus sedan at 55 mph. After the deafening crunch of steel against steel, the dust cleared to reveal a grim scene: the sedan had caught fire with three people trapped inside, the driver of the Jeep was covered in blood, and a little girl had been thrown onto the street. Though he was only 18 years old, Derek knew what he was supposed to do.

Hopping out of his truck, he sprinted to the girl lying on the street and carried her away from the burning sedan. Rushing back, he reached through the flames to pull a baby boy out of the car. The mangled passenger door needed to be pried open with a crowbar before the man inside could be hauled to safety. Bockheim worked with another witness, William Rozema, to extricate the two bloody-faced drivers even before helicopters and ambulances arrived on the scene.

Only later did he stop to consider the personal risks or the significance of what he had done. “Once I got home it kind of hit me,” Bockheim said. Rather, it seems that he was following an innate, God-given understanding of what a man is supposed to do in such a situation. Even the journalist reporting on the incident could not miss this connection to doing a man’s duty. He said of the young Bockheim, it was his “actions Monday morning which truly defined his manhood.” The reporter also was struck by the humility associated with true manhood and commented that during the subsequent interview Derek told his heroic tale “quietly”.

God has written on the hearts of men “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due” and “Do not be afraid of sudden terror…when it comes, for the Lord will be your confidence and keep your foot from being caught” (Proverbs 3:25-27). Indwelling sin tries to deface this expectation with cowardice and selfishness, but in their hearts people recognize godly manhood when it is displayed. In contrast, we recoil at men who value personal safety more than perilous service to others, like the school teacher who abandoned his class of children during an earthquake in order to save himself.

There are many opportunities to demonstrate gutsy, godly masculinity that do not require happening upon a burning car or other crisis situation. Pacing through the night to comfort a crying baby is a quiet display of husbandry that provides sweet sleep to an exhausted wife. Rising before dawn to intercede for the family exhibits manhood at its finest, as does listening to a peculiar clunking sound under the hood of a single woman’s car. Teaching a boy how to fish, hit a baseball, pray mightily or open a door respectfully for a woman passes on a masculine heritage. Humble, loving headship in marriage, faithful service at church, and dependable work on the job are ways of  doing what is expected of a man. All of these activities and many more bring glory to God for the goodness of his design of men and women.

Crowning Bockheim’s manly response in the face of life-threatening danger, the news account records that his father patted him on the shoulder and said, “I am a proud papa; he did what he was supposed to do.” This is just a foreshadowing of what humble, strong, servant-hearted men can expect to hear from their heavenly Father on the final day: Well done, good and faithful servant.