I could never be a podiatrist! Dealing with people’s feet all day? No thanks! Feet are smelly, rough, and just not very pretty. Sort of like you and me.
Yet Jesus, “Who, being in very nature God…made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant,” loved us so much “he humbled himself” so that we; smelly, rough, and ugly as we are; might someday walk on streets of gold. (Philippians 2:6, 8 NIV)
When Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, he was not just washing the grime of Jerusalem’s streets from their toes. He was seeking a way into their hearts. By humbling himself to be like a servant, Jesus was giving them (and us) an example to follow, showing them the only way to be truly like Him is to kneel in service to others as He did.
Being a Christian is not just sitting in a pew each week or singing along with choir. These things have their place, but real Christianity is so much more. It is bearing each other’s burdens, providing a helping hand, offering a shoulder to cry on, and, yes, sometimes washing a dirty foot or two!
This Sabbath morning all around you there are people in need of a word of encouragement, a hand up from the gutter, a place they can call their own. These are your congregation. These are who you are called to serve.
So, gird a towel around you, take a little water in a pail, and get to work. Follow Christ’s example and do as He has done for you. “Taking the very nature of a servant” go and change the world – one “sole” at a time!
God bless and Happy Sabbath!