“When He had washed their feet and put on His outer garments and resumed His place, He said to them, ‘Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.’” John 13:12-17
Devotional Thought For The Day
We may not have had these thoughts or even been aware of these dynamics and principles when we first came to faith in Christ, rejoiced in His free gift of forgiveness and salvation, and began thinking of being His disciples. They are, after all, quite contrary to the kind of goals and ambitions that are inculcated into us by society and perhaps our parents and other family members, and also contrary to how our sinful nature thinks. Much of our efforts in life have to do with getting to a point where we work less, have greater privilege and prerogative, are less accountable to others, and are able to dictate how others serve us. We assume that our Christianity is compatible with such goals and such a lifestyle – and it is shocking to us that Jesus would insist that our orientation, commitment, and lifestyle be quite the opposite of our usual assumptions.
To be clear, Jesus indicates that we need to remember who the Master is and who the servants are. He is the Master, our Master, and we are to follow Him, including His example of serving. We are not above Him, and yet He serves us – not only washing the disciples feet [perhaps the lowliest form of serving], but He also serves us in His redemption, in His ongoing forgiveness, in instructing us through His Word, in protecting us from evil, and also in guiding us to what is a truly blessed way of life – both in our understanding and in our living. The principle is clearly stated: “I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.” We are called to serve, one another and all people, just as Christ has served us – even in the lowliest forms of servant-hood, and of course in all other things as well. Our goals and ambitions are not to be the accumulation of wealth, status, prestige, privilege, power, and prerogative, but rather we are to have one goal and ambition, and that is to serve others just as Christ serves us.
That this strikes us as a ridiculous ambition reveals the sinfulness of our hearts. That we struggle even to grasp such an ambition, let alone to make it our real goal in life, demonstrates the nature of the difficulty of “denying self, taking up our cross, and following Jesus.” [Matt. 16:24] So we come face to face with the real challenge – crucifying and putting to death this sinful flesh and actually “doing” what Christ does for us. But this principle [ambition and gift] is clearly stated, that “they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” [Gal. 5:24] because “our old self was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” [Rom. 6:6] It is only in this way that we are free to follow Christ, to do unto others as He has done for us. But as His disciples, we must ultimately come to agreement with Jesus that “if you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” Often within the church we are not even asked to consider these things, or to “do them.” How are we to be “blessed,” to receive Christ’s benediction, if we are not even called to follow His example?
The power to follow Christ [and to understanding what is truly blessed] is found in knowing and believing the love that He has for us, understanding that in His suffering and death on the cross our sins have been fully atoned for and taken away from us, that He has provided us with forgiveness, eternal life, and salvation as His free gift to us, and that He continues to serve us to this very day in His great love for us. Our serving is enabled and empowered by His service to us, when by faith we grasp and understand His blessed and complete love for us. Only in this way can we begin to see, and to ultimately be moved to “do just as He has done for us.” This is the ultimate blessedness – which He wills for all of us, and to which each of us has been called. May He grant that we receive it through His love and His service to us!
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, grant that our hearts and minds might be touched, enlightened, and freed from our common selfish assumptions and ambitions. Help us to set our minds on things above, Your great love for us and the glories of Your kingdom, and not on things below. Change our hearts, though experience of Your love for us, that we desire the blessedness of serving others. Grant that we be truly blessed to do as You have done for us. Amen.