He told me to tell you that
They say, “If serving is beneath you, Christianity is above you.” Jesus told us He “Did not come to be served, but to serve.”
Sometimes we need a wake up call. The book tells us, “For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and sober (1st Thessalonians 5:5 -6).”
In Revelation 3:2 we read, “Wake up and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.”
Several years ago, I looked in my closet trying to find a shirt to wear that day and as I stood there I realized all my shirts were blue. Some were light blue, some were royal blue, some were navy, some had blue stripes, some had blue checks but they were all blue. I don’t think I have a favorite color but if you would have asked me, “Hey Ken, what’s your favorite color?” I probably would have leaned towards purple or green and I’m sure I would have never chosen something as docile as blue.
The truth may set you free but it may not make you happy. The sad truth is my closet is still full of blue shirts and I have to accept that I like the color blue – nothing wrong with that. My point is we rarely see ourselves accurately.
King David liked to chase the ladies. After he caught Bathsheba and killed her husband, God sent Nathan to confront David. At first David thought other people had closets full of blue shirts but not him. Eventually he got it and confessed, “I have sinned against the Lord (2nd Samuel 12:13).” In essence he acknowledged, “I have a closet full of blue shirts.”
In John 13 towards the end of Holy Week, Jesus was in the upper room eating with his disciples. It was customary to have a servant wash the feet of the guests. Typically it was the newbie that did this lowly task. It’s hard for us to find a reference point for foot care in our culture but it was a pretty big deal back in the day. Foot washing was something you wanted done but you did not want to be the one doing it if you know what I mean.
In the absence of an official foot washing servant Jesus got up, took off his jacket, grabbed a bowl of water, wrapped a towel around His waist and started washing the feet of everyone, weird toes and all.
After he sat back down this is what Jesus said, “For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. … a servant is not greater than his master … If you know these things blessed are you if you do them (John 13:15-17).” Boom! There you go, we call it servant leadership and we need more of it everywhere, in our churches, in our culture, in our government, in every community.
Go and get up from the table, He told me to tell you that.
“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering.” (Hebrews 10:23)
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