24 Series Devotionals - Day 7

Personally Demonstrating Humility

Early in my ministry, I was a youth director at a local church.  We took a group to Ridgecrest conference center, a well-known Southern Baptist encampment in North Carolina.  I decided to help the youth understand humility we would follow Jesus’ example and wash each other’s feet.  On of our young people did not practice very thorough personal hygiene so the task of washing his feet feel to me.   It was a less than glamorous moment.  I’ve never asked a group to wash feet since!

And yet our Lord Jesus….the Son of God….volunteered to wash the dirty, filthy feet of His disciples.

As an exercise in observing people’s sense of self-importance, watch as they arrive at formal dinners where seating is not clearly marked.  Watch where people choose to sit.  Most often, there is a clear place of honor….at the head table with the guest speaker, master of ceremonies, etc.  Many will choose to sit as close to that spot as possible, no doubt feeling the closer they are, the higher the honor.

Not surprisingly, this is not a new state of mind.  In Luke 14:8, Jesus says, “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him (probably the bridegroom)….but when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, ‘friend, move up higher.’  Then you will receive honor.”

Since no one volunteered to serve at that last Passover supper, Jesus arose from the table, laid aside his outer garment, poured water in the basin and began washing the disciples’ feet.  Apparently no one said a thing until Jesus came to Peter, who asked, “Lord, do You wash my feet?”

We could view that question a number of ways, but Jesus simply responded , “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.”

How much of our lives involves things God is doing now that we do not understand?