So when He (Jesus) had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. 

                                                                                                                 John 13:12-17 

Today: Read John 13

It has to rank as one of my favorite pictures of God in the entire New Testament. Jesus is demonstrating what He meant when he declared:

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

                                                                                                                        Mark 10:45 

With all of the ideas, suggestions, and misconceptions about the Almighty, it is comforting to know that God has left us with a clear picture of His character, His nature, and His heart. Let us not forget what we have already discovered. Consider the following:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

                                                                                                                       John 1:1,14 

And Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me.”

                                                                                                                   John 12:44-45 

Jesus is God incarnate. The God of the universe, who spoke the world into existence, came down from heaven, took on human flesh, and served His own creation. Without relinquishing any of His authority, He stepped into our shoes and walked the road that we walk. He understands our plight. He is able to sympathize with our doubts, fears, and struggles (Hebrews 4:14-16). He is mindful that we are but dust (Psalm 103:14b). And in addition to all of that, God is love (1 John 4:8). So as we look at today’s passage, let us be reminded that God came to serve. He understands us and loves us nonetheless. And as our passage instructs us, as believers, we are to do the same.

Why is it that some people reject the gospel? There is no shortage of theological and doctrinal explanations for this question, but is it possible that people are walk away from the good news of Jesus because the church has lost its sense of humility and service to others? It is certainly easier to sweep this under the proverbial carpet than it is for us to do some soul searching and seek out the truth to this question. I believe there are multiple reasons why people do not respond to the gospel, one of which Christ told us about: that people love darkness rather than Light (John 3:19).

But, as believers, we are still left with the instruction to humble ourselves and to serve others (as demonstrated in the washing of the disciple’s feet). Historical context is important. In the first century, road travel would leave people with dirty feet. A good host would have a servant at the ready to wash the feet of his/her guests (an appropriate social act). Therefore, the foot washer was considered one of the lowest possible positions in the social structure of that day. Jesus took that lowest of positions as a way of demonstrating to us humility and service. Of course, the ultimate in Jesus’ demonstration of humility and service was on the cross. Consider the following:

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

                                                                                                               Philippians 2:5-11 

It is not that we have to literally wash other people’s feet rather in everything we do we are to take on the humility and service of Christ. I’m going to go ahead and say it: I do not always exemplify these traits. Sure there are times when the church can say that we have done a good job serving others, but individually, we are suppose to place others above ourselves (something which goes against every fiber of our flesh). So let’s take a look at some important truths for us to consider.

First, we need to have a good, biblical understanding of humility. Humility can be defined as having a modest view of one’s own importance. Humility means having a lack of pride or vanity. Given this definition, let’s look at two passages that leave no room for us to wonder what God expects from His followers. Consider the following instruction:

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

                                                                                                               Philippians 2:3-4

Our lives, as believers in Jesus, are to be lives of service to others. We are to “consider others as more important than ourselves.” Let’s be honest. Do we really wake up every morning with the intent of serving others? We are not talking about getting paid or rewarded for these acts of service rather, like the foot washing, this promotion of others above ourselves is for the sole purpose of demonstrating the love of God. Also, do we “make sure and look out for the interests of others” and not merely our own? I believe it would be a good practice for every Christian to post this passage in a prominent place at home and give it our time and consideration.

But Paul also gives us one last instruction to consider as we strive to serve others. Consider the following:

Do all things without grumbling or disputing… 

                                                               Philippians 2:14 

Serve others? Certainly! Consider others as more important than ourselves? Not easy to do, but yes! But now, we must do all of these things “without grumbling or disputing?” What Paul is saying is that our service to others needs to come from a heart of love, not a begrudging attitude. If we cannot serve others with a smile on our face than perhaps we have missed the whole point of the exercise.

I know that we often (most of us anyway) use the argument that the other person in question does not deserve our service. That very well may be true but anytime we are tempted to take on this attitude, we would do well to remember that we didn’t deserve for Jesus to die on the cross for our sins and to give us eternal life either. So merit should not even come into the conversation.

So if you are like me and this talk of serving others leaves you a little depressed (because of how short we come at times) it is time for us to remember the power that allows us to accomplish this “beyond human” task. It is the very power of the Spirit of God residing in us that allows us to see success in this area. In other words, we should think of ourselves as conduits of God’s love. It is the love of Jesus that will be demonstrated to the person, we need only be willing to allow ourselves to be used. So when we pray, I would not suggest praying for more strength rather pray for God’s love to flow through us. Then will we begin to see the miraculous power of God’s love at work in our lives. Here’s to being a people who are not afraid to “wash the feet” of those who are hurting and in need!