“After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him” (John 13:5).
We use hands to express love. With them I caress my spouse, hold close my children, comfort my loved ones in distress. What would I do if I couldn’t touch those nearest and dearest to me?
Jesus also used his hands to express love. In the upper room at Jerusalem the night before his death, his hands picked up the basin of water and proceeded to wash his disciples’ feet. Shouldn’t it have been turned around? Shouldn’t they have been washing the feet of their Lord and master? He whom the holy angels serve now serves sinful men. He who came to seek and save the lost stoops to the work of the lowest slave.
Why? To give me an example of humble service, of course. He wants to remind me that he gave me hands to wipe away tears, watch over a soul, forgive a fault, bear with an injustice, invite a sinner, encourage a saint. Loving hands change diapers, scrub floors, prepare meals, do homework, carry out the garbage, bring home the paycheck, fill offering envelopes.
Even more, he wants me to remember how deep his love for me really is. That night his hands washed feet with water. The next day they washed souls with his blood on Calvary’s cross. That night the Savior in love handled his disciples’ feet. The next, in a far greater display of love, he handled the world’s sins. From such wondrous love comes wonderful cleansing for my soul.
Prayer:
Lord, help me, the sinner, to pray daily, “Wash me, Savior, or I die.” Amen.
From Beside Quiet Waters: Daily Devotions for a Year, by Richard Lauersdorf. All rights reserved.
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