So if I, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet as well. John 13:14 AMP
The Context and Contention:
The natural man loves power, position and possessions. He seeks it by any means necessary, and will do anything to retain all these, or acquire more. It is not part of the psyche of the natural man to put others first. It is in this light that today's extract makes sense; I have been called to a different standard. I note that Jesus was speaking to people who recognised him as their Lord and teacher. If Jesus is not yet my Lord and teacher, it could mean that this verse is not yet for me. This is the first and most important step: submission and surrender to the One called Lord and Teacher.
This submission means I recognise his authority and will do as He commands. His life becomes the example I seek to copy every day. In this story, the example He showed was to do the work of a servant: wash the feet of his disciples. This was a thankless job, as it really had no recognition or applause, yet Christ the Lord did it. He had nothing to prove, because He knew who He was. Service for me must have nothing to do with the status of the ones being served, but with the understanding of who I am, whose I am and who I work for. If I can sort that out, there is nothing else that will be too basic or ordinary for me to do.
The Charge and Conclusion:
Jesus washed the feet of people who should have been serving Him. He had no status to preserve or image to protect. The only things that mattered to Him were service and impact. What can I learn from this? Let nothing be too much or beneath me that I can't do, as long as God commands it. I must not copy and paste the good actions of people, simply I want to be noticed. There are no blessings attached to eye-service and hypocrisy. Unfortunately, unless the Holy Spirit reveals the mind of man to you, you cannot quickly identify hypocrisy. May I not spend my life in the pursuit of that which God will not bless.
Like all things that Jesus says, there is always a choice of response. Like He told his disciples here, so does He tell us today, if indeed we are his disciples, to copy him the right way. He does not and will not force me to obey, but if indeed I belong to Him, I do not need to be compelled to do as He commands. There is nothing undignifying about obeying Jesus; after all, service on earth is the limited edition, and is the preparation for eternity. Would I sacrifice my eternity with God, simply because I was too ashamed to serve? Would I risk eternal reward just for earthly recognition? God's time of favour is here.
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