John 13:3-4, 12-17
In the passage above Jesus is teaching a valuable lesson to His disciples at the Lord's supper. When the scripture says "He rose from supper and laid aside His garments; and took a towel, and girded himself." It is reffering to an act of humility. The disciples saw Jesus as the Son of God, their Master, and the act of picking up a towel and girding Himself with it was something that only a servant was expected to do. He then went on to wash their feet.
Now this may seem strange to you, after all why in the world would you want to wash or even touch someone elses feet? But things were different in the time that Jesus lived, most people wore sandals or were barefooted all the time, and a lot of them had dirt floors. Plus there weren't exactly indoor showers, so I imagine peoples feet were worn and dirty quite often.
Often when people visited their friends and family they would have to walk long distances, so it became a tradition that when someone came to visit the host would provide a basin of water for them to wash their feet in. Or in some cases if they were more honored guests the host would have their servants wash the guests feet or they would wash them themselves. It became an act representing the kindness and humility it takes to be a servant to someone else.
When Jesus did this for His disciples He was setting the example for them, He said 'Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.' He was teaching them to be humble not only to Him, but to those around them.
Humility is an essential tool that we must learn as Christians, and sometimes a very difficult one to learn. Because what is the opposite of humility? Pride.
I heard someone describe pride one day, and this I think is the best definition I've ever heard for the word. Pride is the attitude of I don't deserve this. Simple right? And not exactly wrong....or is it?
Think about it, when someone points out something you've done wrong your first response is to say something like " It wasn't me." or " I did not." Even if you know that what you did was wrong. That's pride. Or worse, if your treated wrongly by someone else your reaction is I don't deserve this and you may think that to be rightfully so, because it feels right. But the bible says " There is a way that seemeth right to a man, but the end thereof is the way of death." Which makes a lot of sense. Because pride leads to resentment toward others and eventually hatred. And hatred is the opposite of love, which is basically what God is all about. And worse, satin uses hatred to drive wedges between families, to cause people to do horrible things, and to ruin the person who has harbored it for so long.
So when Jesus taught His disciples about humility, He knew it was a very important thing for them to learn. It is one of the main ingredients in having a heart of love, having a heart like the Father.
It is essential in our relationships with those around us and with our Heavenly Father. We must constantly reexamine ourselves in reference to the word of God.
For example, if we have done something that is wrong and we know it, whether it be as simple as telling a little white lie or as bad as robbing a bank. These sins, whether we are saved or not, put a barrier between us and our communication with the Father. Mind you I don't mean to say that we are eternally separated from Him as we were before we accepted salvation, only that God cannot look upon sin and so how can He spend time with us if there is unconfessed sin in the way? But because were all human and can't completely rid our lives of sin right now, we must remember humility. We must remember to, on a regular basis, examine ourselves and confess any sin to God that we haven't already taken care of. Then turn from that sin and ask God to help us overcome it.
This is the essence of how we grow in our walk with the Lord. But it takes a humble spirit to constantly admit that we were wrong. This is why Jesus set the example, not only for His disciples, but for all of us as well. So that we can improve our lives while here on earth and most importantly so that we can draw closer to and become more like our Heavenly Father.
