Are You Willing to Wash "Dirty Feet"? (Article 18-7)

Sadly, most people are willing to serve; few are willing to work and even more are willing to let them. This attitude carries over into the Christian life. When it comes to serving in some practical way, whether it be in our church, at work, in our community, and even within our own family, too many people (many Christians) have some mechanism that makes them want to hide or walk away. As Christians, we must remember that we are all called to be servants. There are no exceptions. If a person is a follower of Jesus Christ, he or she will be developing into a servant. That is so because Christ is our supreme example of servanthood.

Putting Life Into Perspective. Do you ever marvel that when God took on human flesh and came to this earth, He came as He did? God could have chosen for His Son to be born in Herod’s palace, where He would have had the best of every worldly comfort. He would have eaten the finest foods, been pampered and waited upon for His every need. Instead, The Son of God, The “Lord of Lords”, the “King of Kings”, The “Savior of the World” grew up in a modest home; in a Blue Color Community, and took on a “Blue Color” trade of His earthly father. His hands were not the soft hands of a nobleman, but the rough, callused hands of a carpenter. What greater example exists in putting life into perspective that how Jesus was brought and lived in the world. What we learn from Christ is that what really matter the most to God is not the world created, but rather us - His most beloved creation.

It's Hard To Serve When So Many Are Just Willing Take. I find the overwhelming desire of people to take rather than to give to others as one of the most discouraging aspects of life. Equally discouraging are those you consistently give to wanting even more from you. There seems to be no limit or level of satisfaction some people can achieve. They just want more and more, giving little thought or consideration to what they’re asking for or what it takes to give them want they want. The world increasingly seems to be getting to a place where less and less people are willing to give anything of themselves. It’s as if they are blind to the suffering and needs of others, while endlessly complaining and being consumed to what they want from life, the world and others. During these times, I have to pause and meditate on what life is all really about. It’s about being “One with God” and all that entails by way of being pleasing to and abiding in Christ for all things and the realization that our journey is really short.

When It All Comes to an End. When it all comes to an end (and it will), we will take inventory of our lives – the one precious life we are given, and the miracle of it all. In the eyes of God, what meaningful things did we really accomplish in life? Did I live my life with purpose and was if pleasing to our Heavenly Father? Did I run a good race? As a benefactor (not beneficiary) of His gifts and resources, what did I do with them? Did I use them to serve myself or did I use them to serve His Will. Well, the answer to these questions depends on whether you lived your life to satisfy your fleshly desires or whether you lived a spiritual life. If the answer is the former rather than the later, then I’m confident in saying you truly had a wasted life – A life that was not pleasing to our Lord and Savior and our Heavenly Father. See, what really matters is whether the journey you chose was intended to be one with God (by way of Christ, and by means of the Holy Spirit)? By way of Christ, did you sincerely seek God’s face, presence, power, knowledge and love in your life? If the answer is no, then I’m confident in saying you are living a lonely and unfulfilling life: A life of discontent and unhappiness. Some may ask “How do I find Christ”? You find Him by going into action: Action that is focused on serving others according to His (not your) Will. You find Him by humbling and surrendering yourself to Him and all the while, giving Christ thanks for all that He has and continues to give to you. You find Him by serving Him.

What Christ Teaches Us. Jesus taught His disciples and teaches us, “... whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:26-28). On the night of His betrayal, when, if ever there was a time, Jesus needed to be served, He told His disciples, “I am among you as the one who serves” (Luke 22:27). He demonstrated what He meant by rising from that last supper, taking a basin of water and a towel, and performing the servant’s task of washing the disciples’ smelly, dirty feet. Jesus showed His disciples that servitude is the greatest measure of love - the type of love that is greater than faith and hope, from which our salvation depends.

To Be Christ-Like, We Must Serve. In John 13:14-17 Jesus states, “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; neither one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”

We all know these things. The question is, “Do we do them?” Do what? Wash smelly feet. Do the dirty, servant-jobs. Help people who may not be able to repay us. Such service is part and parcel of being a Christian. Everyone who knows Christ will be like Christ by acting like servants. No exceptions!

Christ Gives Us Gifts Us To Serve. There is a spiritual gift called the gift of “helps” (1 Cor. 12:28) or “service” (Rom. 12:7). While all Christians must serve in various ways, some are specially gifted by God for service in supportive, practical, and often behind-the-scenes ways. Thus, while some Christians will have the gift of serving and devote themselves to that area, all believers should be involved in a lifestyle of serving, because our Lord and Savior did not come to be served, but to serve and we are to be like Him. For those who are often called to do undesirable work for the sake of the King of Kings, needs to remember on a personal basis, the love of Jesus and be able to demonstrate it to others.

Conclusion. We must live daily in personal contact with the greatest Servant of all. On the job service training begins today, right where you are. Whether you’re an official servant or otherwise, there are no job shortages if you’re willing to wash dirty and smelly feet. Service is not an option for followers of the Son of Man who came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many.