Jesus Washes His Disciples' Feet

John 13:1-17

Dear Heavenly Father,

It has been another fantastic day and I have seen You in so many different places as I went about my daily activities.  I saw You in my lil boys smile as I chased him around the yard.  I saw You when I picked up my baby girl after a long nap and she looked up at me with those great big eyes.  I saw You when my husband sent me a text when he was at work just to say that he loves me and misses me.  I saw You when I put supper out on the table for my family knowing that yet again You have provided.  I saw You when I went out to check on the garden and I saw new plants sprouting up - and not just weeds.  I saw You when I was working out this afternoon giving me the strength to get through.  You are all around me and  you have filled my life with so many wonderful blessings!

The other day, Lord, I heard a story from a mom who was telling about her kids and their pretend play.  She had put together a neat homemade play grill for her kids to play with and they absolutely loved it.  But, Lord, the impressive part to me was that those kids, ages 2 and 5, wanted to use that grill to pretend they were cooking food to feed the poor.  How incredible is that?  To me that says a lot about the hearts of those children but it also says a lot about their parents.  How would the kids know about feeding the poor unless they've seen their parents do it.  And that hit home for me.  What kind of service am I doing for You, Lord, that my kids will want to mimic? 

With that on my heart, Lord, I decided to read in Your Word the story about when Jesus washed His disciples' feet. 

"It was just before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that the time had come for Him to leave this world and go to the Father.  Having loved His own who were in the world, He now showed them the full extent of His love.

The evening meal was  being served, and the devil had already prompted Judus Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus.  Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God; so He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist.  After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him."
John 13:1-17


I know this story doesn't sound like it goes with my thoughts today because the poor weren't being fed, but in a way they were.  You were feeding the disciples who were poor in spirit compared to Your Son.  You were feeding them with the knowledge of serving others and the importance of that.  Jesus knew all of the circumstances ahead of Him and yet He took that time to serve.  What a wonderful lesson for the disciples and what a wonderful lesson for me.

I know when I was young and I was going through my several different knee surgeries my parents would make the night before a surgery a bit more special than usual.  Something like making me a special meal because they knew that I wouldn't be eating much the next day or one time they even took me to a St. Louis Cardinals game.  Now if I was like Jesus I would've spent the nights before a surgery serving other people but instead I let my parents serve me. 

Jesus was always thinking of others first.  Always serving others first, and what a wonderful example that is for me.  The question is, am I being that example to my children?  Will they be pretending to make food for the poor?  Not if I'm not serving the poor.  Will they be pretending to share the Good News?  Not if I'm not spreading the Good News.  Will they pretend to open their house to those in need?  Not if I'm not willing to open our house up to those in need.  And if my children aren't brought up seeing me serve then the chances of them growing up to serve are slim. 

Talk about a punch in the gut feeling, Lord.  This is something I've always known but often times I get too busy to even think about it.  In my mind I'm serving my family and that is what fills my day.  But I know You are asking more of me, Lord.

I want to serve others for You, Lord, and I also want to serve others so that my children will learn the importance of serving.  I pray, Lord, that you open my mind to see things that I can do to serve You more.  And I pray our children have hearts full of love to serve You and to help others.  Thank you, Lord, for your amazing example to me and I pray I can be that example to my kids.  I love you, Lord.  In Jesus name, Amen.