"Jesus, I want to be like You".
Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. He did a job that was at the level of a total servant and yet He was God. He did this for the purpose of being an example to us of servant-hood. As I read this Scripture, I could not help but wonder, in our present day, what exactly does "washing another's feet" look like ? How do I become a servant like Jesus in my home, at church, in my community ? I have an idea, but I would love to gain more insight.
Today I would like to do something different. I would like to start a discussion on what servant-hood and "washing another's feet" look like.
For more exciting fellowship join A Chosen Remnant on Facebook and Twitter. Blessings !
I don't know how many times I have prayed this prayer. The more I pray this prayer, the more my sin becomes more obvious. At first I thought : WHAT IS UP WITH THAT ? ! And then I began to gain some understanding. I believe that each time I pray that my heart would become more like Jesus', God shows me a little more of His holiness. And in the light of His holiness, everything I am doing seems so weak and useless that I decide that becoming like Jesus is not going to be by my human effort. The bottom line : it will take the grace of God and the help of the Holy Spirit to become like Jesus and I am totally fine with that.
I was reading this portion of Scripture just a few weeks ago (found in John 13: 4&5)
so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet,drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
And so Jesus washes the smelly, dirty feet of twelve Jewish men ( there were no highways and properly paved roads then and so just get a mental picture of that). And then this happens (v. 12-17)
When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.Here's what got me : "...you also should wash one another's feet."
Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. He did a job that was at the level of a total servant and yet He was God. He did this for the purpose of being an example to us of servant-hood. As I read this Scripture, I could not help but wonder, in our present day, what exactly does "washing another's feet" look like ? How do I become a servant like Jesus in my home, at church, in my community ? I have an idea, but I would love to gain more insight.
Today I would like to do something different. I would like to start a discussion on what servant-hood and "washing another's feet" look like.
Question For You
It's my question to you and I am hoping all you wonderful readers will help me out : what does washing another person's feet look like in our day and age ? How does it become a practical way of life ?For more exciting fellowship join A Chosen Remnant on Facebook and Twitter. Blessings !
22 comments:
I think washing another's feet is a sign of humility. You're not too big enough to help another out, in whatever areas they need help in. You're able to encourage and uplift them when needed.
Volunteering is one's community can also symbolize washing of another's feet. It's like putting yourself in someone else's position and empathzing with them.
Serving in one's local church is also an aspect of servant-hood. Because, you're putting yourself under another person's control. You're also being obedient to God.
This Christian race isn't easy, if we plan to do it on our own. The Holy Spirit is there to help us...be more Christ-like.
Thanks for sharing! :)
I was waiting for an answer and then you got me.
Oh okay. Lol
I believe washing each other's feet means to be dedicated to the well being of others. I wonder why the disciples did not wash their own feet before they entered the house. I am very sure it was not part of the culture back then, it was not a priority. They might have washed their hands but not their feet. This to me means that we should care about all areas of the lives of fellow Christians. Even the part of their lives that might not seem significant,the part of their lives that the world would say is not part of our business. This is exactly what we should make our business.
If I call you my sister in Christ and I see you tweet something that indicates that you might be having a bad. I should be able to get in your business and ask. It is then up to you, to share or not to sure. But I shouldn't allow fear of rejection or the mindset that 'It is mot my business' stop me from helping you wash your feet.
Stopping by to say hello Gertrude! I agree, washing another person's feet is simply servanthood. If we say we are our brother's/sister's keeper, then we should ever be ready to help them(if we're able to) when needed - naturally and spiritually. Great post my friend, thanks for sharing! Have a blessed week! ;-)
In a little church in GA, we actually washed each others' feet one time. It was quite humbling to wash and to be washed. And I think that humility is the lesson.
Hi Gertrude,
What it means to serve? Being Christ to one another, to share His love; by walking by another's side, like He does for us throughout our life.
It means picking up the cross, placing pride to one side, to seek humility, walking closely with the King of kings, to feed the hungry, clothe the poor, to share with others what Jesus has blessed us with.
Beautiful post, thank you.
Anita, from Scattering the Stones
Oluwaseun, thanks for commenting. The Christian race IS NOT easy. You are so right about that ! I think humility is something you never stop learning until you are finally leave this earth. Lord give us humble hearts !
LOL Funmi, I tricked ya ! I believe I will be learning all about humility until the day I die. I like your perspective of being dedicated to the well-being of others. I never thought of that and to tell you the truth, I think I have lived most of my life as a very selfish person. I am learning more and more to get involved in the lives of others especially in those of my Christian brothers and sisters.
Thanks for your insight and perspective ! Love you.
Wow Bettyl, that must have been humbling indeed ! Thanks for stopping by and may God bless you today.
Anita, thanks so much for stopping by and for your insight on this. I am definitely gaining more insight into what it means to wash another's feet. Thanks for stopping by and may God bless you !
I think washing one's feet means doing whatever it is that God puts upon your heart for you to do, and doing it willingly.
Mail4rosey, I was not sure what you meant by that at first. And then I happened to saunter over to your blog and saw that video you had posted of Beth Moore talking about the Hairbrush and it made sense ! Thanks Sister. God bless you.
Have a wonderful week too Michell. :D
Wow such a great little prompt. It really makes you think about it. I think it refers to the worst chore- you know it's easy to do an easy chore for someone but this is referring to doing that what no one else would want to do. I think it's a very sweet metaphor. Just found your blog and I'm excited to get to know you better. Hope you don't mind if I follow along...
newest follower :)
bonnie
thelifeofbon.com
wow this really humbled me! It's something that is practiced at my church but I never take part (mainly because I dislike feet! But also because I never grew up doing this at my childhood church back home). But as I read your post, I couldn't help but think about how God really came down to the level of servitude to wash these men feet! & here I am worrying about my dislike of feet! smh....
But to answer your question, I suppose in this day and age as rare as it may seem to us, washing another's feet would mean possibly forgetting about "self", forgetting about our needs, and putting away pride for a change and reach out to people and help them spiritually, emotionally, momentarily, and so forth! I don't look at the washing of the feet as a literal thing we ought to do (and I may be wrong! God probably does want us to do this) but I take the fact that he did this as an example or lesson that we are not to think too highly of ourselves and in doing so, forsake the needs of our brothers and sisters around us!
(sorry for the essay) lol
God BLESS :-)
Hi Nissey, don't worry about your essay ! Lol. It humbles me too that Jesus gave us this picture of complete servitude to each other. In our day and age, I think a lot of us have lost that sense of "serving others" unless it makes us feel good and wins us some accolades. But God is looking for some truly humble people and I pray that we can be those people! God bless you too and have a great weekend.
Thanks for stopping by Bonnie. I will check your blog out soon. God bless you.
Our church calls it the Ordinance of Humility. The deaconesses all dress in white and give those who participate a little basin with clean water. We find a partner and wash each other's feet.
After that, we pray with each other and return to the sanctuary and take the Communion which is unleavened bread and unfermented grape juice (no fermented wine for our temples).
It is a beautiful site. I wish that I had taken pictures of the service now so that I could blog about it too.
We do this (I think) every 3 months.
Tonya that sounds very beautiful. You should indeed take a picture of it and blog about it. And I believe that apart from doing it literally, it's so important that we are humble in our hearts towards each other and ALWAYS offer to do things for others that people would normally not do. Just like Jesus did !
Thanks for your insight !
beautiful post God Bless xo
Lol...God BLESS!
Please check out my blog "A Heart of Worship"
at aheartofworship12.blogspot.com
~thanks much! :-)
stumbled on your blog via the blog hop at:
http://www.whatjeanlikes.com/
GREAT post!!
thanks so much for sharing
New follower via email! :-)
http://mscomposure.blogspot.com
http://www.infinitelifefitness.com
I love that. Could you take a picture next time and share.
Thank you, many blessings
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