More Than Foot Washing

John 13:1-11; 1 John 1:6-10; 2:6

In John 13 Jesus removes his outer garment and wrapped a towel around His waste as an act of humility and service. These latter two attributes are what we focus on when we read this passage. In fact, when I get to John 13 in my reading I immediately write it off as Jesus’ example of servant leadership and skim through it. The problem this time was I couldn’t get Mary’s anointing of Jesus’ feet with the expensive perfume in the previous chapter out of my head. There had to be a connection! Then I began to think about John the writer of both the Gospel that bares his name and his first epistle to see if I can find an answer to this whole foot-washing thing. Time and space won’t allow me to unpack this, but in first John the author talks about walking in the light as Jesus is in the light. Here is the gist…Jesus was sinless which means He always walked in the light, in Him was no darkness at all. When Mary poured the perfume on Jesus’ feet she was anointing Him not washing Him. When Jesus girds the towel, He was symbolically communicating the importance of having “clean feet” so the disciples can walk in the light as He did. It was as if He (Jesus) was cleansing them (Disciples) so that He could work in and through them to the world. “The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.” 1 John 2:6 (NASB). So the foot washing example carried more weight to what would take place as in the future “walking” of all disciples of Christ, than a mere lesson in humility and servant hood. That is why Jesus makes the comment, “not all of you are clean”, even though they had physically bathed, they needed their “life walk” (feet) washed by water and later by His blood, which Judas would have no part of. We today are able to walk with Christ in a manner worthy of our calling as His disciples because they continued the example of spiritual “foot washing” so that our walks would too be clean. Again, this is not a literal foot washing exercise, but a figurative example of constantly walking like Jesus, constantly being cleansed through confession and repentance resulting in forgiveness and fellowship with the Holy Three and each other. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7 (NIV).

1.      What is the condition of your feet (Life)? Dirty, clean or in need of a Spiritual pedicure?

2.      What does “foot washing” mean to you? What do you do to keep your walk clean?

Beyond the Expensive Fragrance

John 12:1-11

Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, was the one who sat at Jesus’ feet to soak in all His compelling words in a previous account. This same Mary took a very expensive type of perfume possibly her dowry and with it anointed the feet of Jesus. This was noted as a huge sacrifice and expression of her devotion to our Lord. Many who witnessed such a grand act of extravagance grumbled at the supposed waste. Only Judas the stealth thief in the group made his overt complaint verbal. Mary's expression of sacrificial worship of Jesus didn't start and stop with the perfume anointing; she then uncovered her hair to wipe our Lord's feet. For years I looked at this display of adoration with a bit of confusion and disgust. Didn’t she at least have a towel to wipe his feet?  Then it hit me...it was not proper for a women to let down her hair or have it uncovered in public unless she was a prostitute or if she was in her home expressing love to her husband. This was a very scandalous act, one that probably shocked the guests at the house. It expressed intimacy, a level of sacrifice and surrender beyond one's bank account or material donation. This was a depth of worship that was never seen in the local synagogue but one that is a model for all of us today. Mary could have stopped at the "perfume level” of her expression of worship; Jesus Himself was amazed by her initial expression of devotion, but she went beyond what was considered extravagant. She desired to go significantly deeper, to a level of spiritual and relational intimacy only achieved by a few. She longed for the relationship that God the Father had with God the Son and was willing to do whatever it took to get there. Mary wanted to “dance” with the Holy Three.

So the obvious question would be: How are we expressing worship to The Lord? We may be attending a weekend service or watching it online, tithing and actively involved in a small group, but are we truly worshipping our Lord? Do we desire such an intimate relationship and expression of worship to the point that we would sacrifice all to communicate it? Finally, what life changes do I need to make so that I can journey deeper into an expression of adoration and worship that would amaze and honor our Lord?

Being Salty

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. Matthew 5:13

This morning as I was riding into to work I began to think about what effective ministry looks like and how do you know if you are making a real difference. Let’s face it, we all want to know that our lives matter, that our contribution to the Kingdom of God is significant. We often land on the premise that we either believe our lives and ministry really do not matter or we sell ourselves short by being content in our current situation by not dreaming or trying anything different and new. Both are a trap from the enemy and not the real desire of our Lord. How many of you speak in front of hundreds of people telling them about God? Wait for it…Ok, none of you. How many of you pray for someone in your ministry or send an encouraging email, leave a prayer on an answer machine, share an idea, a verse or theological thought with someone? Of course you do that and so much more. I am finding that the more expressive or “upfront” ministries though they appear to be making the most impact aren’t as life changing as one would think. Jesus didn’t call us all to be public speakers, but He did call us to be salt.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love to speak, the bigger the audience the better I feel I am, but I believe I am most effective when I can add spiritual flavor, stop the spread of sin and spiritual disease, or simply drop a thought that when added with another thought can produce something amazing. We have no idea the impact we make for the Kingdom of God. We don’t see what nuggets we have dropped into someone’s heart or at least in their mind. Many times you share an idea and it cultivates into something life changing; other times, it falls on deaf ears only to resurface years later.

Jesus tells us that we are “the salt of the world” not loudspeaker, not the face, the celebrity, or rock star. We are to touch lives in such a way that it helps them. The people you encounter may never recognize your positive influence, they may never understand what your words did to save them from a horrible fall, or hear your prayers that shaped their effectiveness for the kingdom. So how can you put legs on this?

1.   Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the many ways He is adding His flavor and or killing sin in your life. He may even show you the people He uses.

2.   Recognize that your ministry is more effective than the results you may or may not see.

3.   Be intentional about adding affirmation, encouragement, or truth when you are with people.

4.   Be a feeder of God’s word so that you have flavorful “salt” to add to people.

5.   Make a list of the salt that has been “shaken” into your life, so you can in turn “shake” it into the lives of others.

I hope this post will stir your hearts and minds to the point that you begin to be more intentional in who you are called to be…the salt of the earth!