24 Series Devotionals - Day 8

 

The old hymn writer put it this way:

 

Trials dark on every hand,
And we cannot understand
All the ways that God would lead us to
That blessed promised land;
But He’ll guide us with His eye,
And we’ll follow till we die;
We will understand it better by and bye!

When starting to wash the disciples’ feet, Peter asked, “Lord, do you wash my feet?”  In John 13:7, Jesus responds, “What I do, you do not realize….“

Peter, always quick to react, would not have it!  In verse 8 we read, “Never shall You wash my feet!”  An old reliable rule of thumb:  Never say never!  And Peter was about to learn that.  Jesus responded, “If I do not wash you, you have no part of Me.”

Clearly, Jesus is speaking far beyond foot washing.  He is about to die.  His atoning death would mean cleansing for His followers….and for every believer thereafter.  There is no other way!  Even our smallest sin is so filthy in God’s sight we cannot cleanse ourselves.  If Christ does not do it, we remain stained.

But Christ did do it…..and because He did, we don’t have to remain stained…..ever.

Peter, known for being a bit headstrong and stubborn and trying to set his own terms, did not want to be left out, so in verse 9, he says, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and head.”  While Peter was humbly submitting to Christ’s cleansing, he tried to add his own set of requirements:  “Head and hands, too.”

Don’t we, too, often do that when we pray?  “Lord, I really need this, and here’s how I’d like you to do it.”  It…just, .doesn’t….. work.