Imagine your one of the twelve disciples. Your in a room reclining at a table you chat among yourselves, you laugh and reminisce. You make fun of peter how he screamed like a girl when went from walking on water to swimming like a rock. John Jests about what he was thinking when he saw Jesus sleeping the midst of the storm. Jesus laughs and jokes along with you. In your conversation some one happily asks "out of all of us here who do you think is the greatest." Out of the corner of your eye you catch something out of place. It is Jesus he is standing up with a somber look on his face. You have small tightening in your stomach, your a little nervous with anticipation. Whats he going to do, why is standing in the middle of the meal, what has got him looking that way. He looks at you. Something in his look grabs you, his look is intentional He speaks a message of passion and love with out saying a word. Your nervousness fades, your curiosity heightens, you watch him with intention, something is going to happen and you're not going to miss it. The room has gone silent everybody is watching as Jesus moves toward the wall. Silently and without hesitation he removes his outer garment. He takes a towel of the wall and wraps it around his waist. As he moves to the table and pours water into a basin you become filled with emotion. You see your lord, the man who has taught you so much,you have seen him raise the dead, calm the seas, heal the sick and walk on water. He has counseled you in your deepest troubles and shown no fear in the face of danger he is your hero, your mentor. You have nothing but admiration and respect for him and there he stands half naked with a bowl of water kneeling preparing to serve you. He grasps your left foot. its to much, you should be humiliated before him not him before you, your voice trembling with emotion speaks out "I should wash your feet not you mine."
The lord was insistent. The lord continued to wash the disciples feet that night everyone of them. A powerful and humble act. We could go on for days about the act. However it is not the act that I am struck by today, it is the heart behind it. It says in john 10:10 "...I came that they may have life, and have it to the full". This verse states it pretty clearly that God did not come to create a bunch of rules so that we could live our lives restricted and unhappy, his intention is not to lord over us and keep us tightly pressed under his thumb. He came so that we could live the best lives we could possibly live. As Jesus sat down with his disciples for the last meal they would eat before his death, he heard the disciples ask each other "Who is the greatest among us" Jesus knew this would never do. He had to make sure they understood that it was better to serve than to be served. He had to show them it didn't matter who was the greatest but rather who served the most. Those who serve the most are those who touch the most lives, if you really want to be something great you must serve. The lesson was so important the Lord disgraced himself so that they and us would know it. That's the heart of God. His heart, his passion, his burning desire is that you live a life to the full, there is no disgrace to much for him to suffer to ensure that this is exactly what happens. Think twice before you judge God or why he asks you to do something. Its not about living life according to the rules, are just being nice people, its not just because he is charge, but rather that we might live life and live it to the full. Live the adventure.
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