6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.” (John 13:6-11 ESV)
Have you ever thought of the symbolism of this act of service by Jesus? To have a share with Jesus, we have to be cleaned by Jesus. The amazing thing about our faith is that God gives the people he calls a share with himself without those people having to do or sacrifice anything. When you look at other faiths, we see that this simply isn’t true. The adherents of those faiths have to earn their share with their god or gods.
Two questions for us today:
How are we still trying to earn our share with Jesus with our works?
What parts of our lives do we have to allow Jesus to wash?
How are we still trying to earn our share with Jesus with our works?
Maybe we’re trying to earn our share with Jesus by going through the motions of faith instead of living in it. For example, you feel bad about cussing out your boss or lying to your client, and on your way home, you encounter a homeless man and you give him a $50 bill out of your wallet to ease your guilt instead of going to your boss or your client and apologizing. Perhaps it’s not as complicated.
Maybe every weekend you wake up after a night of blacking out from getting drunk, high, or partying, you go to a church service and spend the hour daydreaming about what happened only to do it all over again the next weekend.
If we are trying to modify our behavior to counterbalance our heart’s desires and longings, then we’re still trying to earn our way to God’s promises instead of being washed by God in his promises.
What parts of our lives do we have to allow Jesus to wash?
The reason Jesus says he needs to “wash our feet” so that we are “completely clean” is because when we are saved by him in faith, we begin the process of becoming more like him in his image and perfection. This process is called sanctification.
Let’s go back to the examples I shared earlier and examine what caused you to cuss out your boss or lie to your client and why did you choose to get so drunk, high, and party until you blacked out? If I had to guess, it’s because you’re looking seeking comfort, approval, control, or power. So you acted in a way that took your feelings of hurt, rejection, worry, or anger and directed them sinfully toward others. After all, there’s a lot of stress in your life, nobody likes to be rejected, and boredom you are dealing with knows no ends.
Take a look at the things you seek after in situations and circumstances you face daily, if they are not God himself, then they are idols. Pray that you can seek after God by allowing Jesus to wash you clean.
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