Would You Allow Jesus to Wash Your Feet?

After that he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. John 13:5 
                                                           

Jesus and His disciples had been traveling all day. His heart was heavy. He knew that His time was short and that there were so many things to teach them yet. The Last Supper with them had come and they were still disputing among themselves, still wanting to be more important to Jesus than the next guy. Oh! How patient our Savior was with them.
                                                                                 

He wanted them to discover the truth that in order for a person to be great in the Kingdom of God, they must learn to be willing to humble themselves to do the lowest of tasks.

He showed them that the King of the Jews was the servant of all...not just to one or two, but to all twelve...even the betrayer, Judas. 

Washing of the feet was customarily done by a servant when the guests entered the home. However, it seemed that none around Him really wanted to stoop so low to do the dirty task that should have been done before they ate. 

Remember earlier, Mary had been criticized by them for washing Jesus feet with her tears and wiping them with her hair. She understood more than they did. Even though her sister Martha did not recognize it at one point,  she had a servant's heart. She spent time at Jesus' feet, not necessarily at the table. It did not matter to  her. She did what others did not do.

The point here is that we, like Jesus, must be willing to humble ourselves and do the menial tasks as servants to all. If that means that we clean the church bathrooms, then so be it. If it means cleaning up or doing the myriad of tasks behind the scenes without recognition, then that is what we as Christians should do.

On the other side of the coin, we see that Jesus also served the betrayer, Judas; the denier, Peter; and a whole lot of cowards who fled when push came to shove. He knew what was going to happen that night. He was God. He knew men's thoughts and motives, yet He showed them through His example how to be a true servant of His.

We all have people in our lives who betray us, who hurt us, who turn their backs on us when we need them the most because it is more comfortable to do so. However, like Jesus, we need to humbly serve them in every way that we can and not miss opportunities to show them the light of Jesus that shines in our lives. 

Kindness has won over more enemies than defensive actions. 

Humility and Kindness.... from the true servant's heart.


Thanks for reading.
Donna