Last week in Defined we looked at the story of Jesus washing his friends' feet. You can find it in the Bible in the book of John, chapter 13 v.1-17. It's a pretty iconic story in the life of Jesus, and lots of you might have heard of it, or even read it, before. In small groups last week we talked about how we'd feel embarassed about Jesus doing the same with us, how it would feel weird, how it would change our perception of how he is and what he wants for us, or perhaps
from us...
Crazy to think that a simple act of kindness can conjure up all those different responses.
But maybe it's not so strange- I mean, after all, have you ever noticed how quickly new shoes get ruined? All it takes is one trip out in the snow, a heavy downpour of rain, an afternoon on the beach, a day where your feet get really sweaty, for those nice new shoes you bought to be changed. They smell different, look different, feel different.
Our feet tell the stories of where we've been, what we've done, who we've been hanging out with.
The dirt of the day always sticks.
The amazing thing about this story is that it is not just a story. Jesus really did wrap a towel around his waist, get down on his knees and wash the grime and dust off his friends' hardened, smelly feet.
And the promise for us is that if we let Jesus see where we've been, what we've done, who we've been hanging out with, who we've been avoiding, what we've not been doing, where we're running from, what we're running to, then he will get down on his knees and wash those things away. He will make us clean. He will make us new.
And then the even MORE amazing thing is he encourages us to do the same to others.
Who do you know who is hurting this week? Who do you know who is hardened by life? Who is always running away from problems that could be healed in their life, or maybe running to something that won't satisfy. How can you bring healing and hope and cleansing in the lives of others?
