Getting your hands dirty
In an age where antibacterial soap is as abundant as water, and cleanliness IS Godliness to some, I've often wondered what we would have thought of Jesus. Here is a man who wrote on the ground, put his spit on a deaf and partially mute man's tongue and his fingers in his ears, hung around the dregs of society, and even took time to heal lepers, who epitomized the image of "unclean." Jesus was not afraid to get his hands dirty in his work here on earth, and it is best demonstrated in John 13.
In verse 12-17, after Jesus had girded himself as a lowly servant and washed their stinky, dirty feet, he had this to say:
So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
His point was obvious: Our idea about what is beneath us, what is too much to ask, is nothing compared to what Jesus endured for us. Jesus' life was a powerful example of his incredible love for us and his willingness to give up his place of honor and respect to come and live among us so that we could learn how to love and treat each other. We are blessed when we understand this, and instead of complaining about helping and serving others, we should welcome the opportunity to serve and love the people who need us and rely on us for spiritual help. When we deny the work of a servant, we deny Jesus who did it all for us, and as he told Peter, if we do not participate we have no portion or part with him.
So, let's roll up our sleeves, put on our work gloves, and work together to see God's will done, checking our egos and our selfishness at the door. Whatever we need to do, whether it's teaching, working on the building, visiting the sick, or embracing the struggling sinner, we should be ready and willing to help. Because if we want to be with Jesus, there is one guarantee: We're going to get our hands dirty.
God bless this week,
Michael
In verse 12-17, after Jesus had girded himself as a lowly servant and washed their stinky, dirty feet, he had this to say:
So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
His point was obvious: Our idea about what is beneath us, what is too much to ask, is nothing compared to what Jesus endured for us. Jesus' life was a powerful example of his incredible love for us and his willingness to give up his place of honor and respect to come and live among us so that we could learn how to love and treat each other. We are blessed when we understand this, and instead of complaining about helping and serving others, we should welcome the opportunity to serve and love the people who need us and rely on us for spiritual help. When we deny the work of a servant, we deny Jesus who did it all for us, and as he told Peter, if we do not participate we have no portion or part with him.
So, let's roll up our sleeves, put on our work gloves, and work together to see God's will done, checking our egos and our selfishness at the door. Whatever we need to do, whether it's teaching, working on the building, visiting the sick, or embracing the struggling sinner, we should be ready and willing to help. Because if we want to be with Jesus, there is one guarantee: We're going to get our hands dirty.
God bless this week,
Michael
