"After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat
down and asked, 'Do you understand what I was doing? You call me Teacher and Lord,
and you are right, because that's what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher,
have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other's feet. I have given you an
example to follow. Do as I have done to you. I tell you the truth, slaves are
not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one
who sends the message. Now that you know these things, God will bless you for
doing them.'"1
I cannot even begin to imagine all the thoughts and feelings
that Jesus was experiencing in the passage above. In the first verse of John 13
we read, "...Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to
his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he
loved them to the very end." Despite his feelings, He selflessly set them aside
at the moment and focused on his purpose. He wanted to take advantage of every
moment with his disciples to teach them, hands on, what it looked like to be a
follower of Jesus. Not only did he actively model a life of service to them,
but he also wanted to make sure they understood it and did it. He did not want them
to have any excuse for not serving others. Jesus spent every moment leading up
to his death serving and blessing others. What a beautiful example of love.
This led me to think of my life. When I encounter undesirable
circumstances in life, many times the last thing I think about is serving or
blessing others through it. Sometimes I prefer to avoid interacting with other
people until the stress passes! But by doing this, I miss out on the blessings
God has for me. Imagine the impact our testimony could have if we focused on
our purpose instead of the problem. Loving and serving others through our
problems or stressful moments is evidence of our faith and trust in God.
However, we will all have bad days and will at times need to
take some time alone to process and pray. That is what Jesus did when he went
to pray in Gethsemane. There came a moment when he told his disciples "My soul
is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."
Then he goes a little farther to be alone with his Father.2 Even in
that he taught us... when we get overwhelmed or we don't know what to do, go to
the Father.
Let today's scripture be a reminder and encouragement to us
to actively follow Jesus by doing what he taught us to do.
Suggested prayer: Dear God, thank you for the example of
love that you gave us in Jesus. I ask that you help me do the things he taught
us to do. Serving and loving others was his purpose all the way to the cross.
Even when he knew he would be betrayed, he did not let that distract him from
doing what he needed to do. I pray that I would, like Jesus, focus on my
purpose more than my problems, and when I feel overwhelmed, that I would go to
you in prayer and trust that your will and plans are good. Thank you for
hearing and answering my prayer. In Jesus' name, amen."
John 13:12-17 (NLT).
Matthew 26:36-46.