Daily Devotion for August 14, 2006

That’s What the King Once Did

 

Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. John 13:17

 

The last days that Jesus spent on earth are filled with intimate moments with his disciples. He is the master, the friend, the servant, the king. He knew that the time had come for him to go to the Father. At this point, Jesus wants to teach one of his greatest lessons. He acts first and explains later. Jesus gets up, takes off his outer clothing and wraps a towel around his waist, then washes the feet of his speechless disciples.

 

 It is hard in life to take off the outer clothing, the protection, the façade and to let others see in us nothing but a humble soul. We are encouraged and commanded by Jesus to serve, and he reveals the first step of that service: take off the outer clothing, take off the medals, the honors, the achievements, and come to the person you are serving not as your marvelous self, but as the feet and the hands of Jesus. Not a recognizable face, not the unforgettable accomplishments, nothing but a person whose life belongs to a king that turned the world order upside-down. This incarnation of God’s love wraps a towel of service around the waist and by doing so makes himself recognizable as a servant (For what master walks around with a towel, or a tray?).

 

 In some churches today it is customary for the pastor or the elders to wash the feet of members of their congregation. It is a symbol that they are there to serve. However the true proof of willingness to serve comes often in everyday life, not in the ceremonial atmosphere of a cathedral or church. But how can we completely lay aside the outer clothing, and think of ourselves as nothing else but a part of the outpouring of Christ’s love to the world? “I have set an example that you should do as I have done for you. No servant is greater than his master, nor a messenger greater than the one who sent him” Unless we let Christ wash our dirty feet, we won’t be able to do so. The perception that we acquire about the value of our own life is always dependent upon the intimacy that we experience with Jesus. The dirt on my feet makes me ashamed of my actions, but the hands that hold the scars of the cross are seeing the dirt and washing it away. The hands that command the waves and winds, the hands that heal, are touching my dirty feet and making me clean, comfortable, and ready to have supper with the greatest king of all. Who is He in my life right now? If he is the one who is washing my feet, then it will be easy for me to lay down my façade and become one with the lord, become his hands, and without pride, wash my brother’s feet. I am no greater than my master; I am no greater than the one who sent me.

 

 But if I hide my own feet from Jesus saying, “No, you shall never wash my feet,” the answer of Jesus is clear, “ Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” Unless I have part with him, I will never be able to forget myself and be Jesus to others, for I would never know him in an intimate way. Knowledge of the Word and wisdom of the world are important to us in rendering service to others. Yet they are nothing without love, a love that we learn in intimacy with the lord Jesus. To love the ones we serve means to see them with the eyes of Jesus, to pick up their feet and love doing that in spite of the odor and let the water of eternal life wash them clean, making them comfortable and ready to have supper with God.

 

 After all, that’s what the King once did…

 

Prayer
Jesus, I stand in awe of you, I stand in awe of your love and your willingness to sacrifice it all so that we can be able to see the true nature of love. Help us to never forget what you revealed to us; help us to never forget that we are not greater than the master of the universe who washed our feet.

 

 

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