As I...So You...

Imagine the scene. Jesus puts on an apron, grabs a bowl of water and a towel, then proceeds to wash the feet of His disciples. Hear His words: "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet."

This is one of those stories that we are all too familiar with. Much like the images etched into stained glass, we simply look at it from afar but never allow it to impact us fully. The teaching is simple, and has way more to do with our lives than washing the feet of others. Jesus puts forward a way of life that flows seamlessly with many of His other teachings (i.e. As I have done unto you, do unto others).

Think about it. Everything that Jesus has done, He has done for us completely. His love, forgiveness, mercy, and the like has been for our benefit. He gives it to us freely. However, I do believe the charge that follows should be understood. Whatever the Father has done for us in Christ, we should give to one another.
If we have been forgiven - we should forgive one another.
If we have received love - we should love one another.
If mercy has been extended toward us - we should extend mercy toward one another.
Freely you have received - Freely give.

How many parables does Jesus have to tell before we understand that what we have received should be reciprocated? Not only that, but I find it amazing that the Lord did not ask the disciples to wash His feet. He asked them to wash the feet of one another.

Have you ever considered that seeing the will of God done on Earth as it is in Heaven could be as simple as giving away what the Father has given to you?

What if we forgave the way He does?
Love the way He has loved?
Show mercy the way He has shown mercy?
What if we were willing to put on an apron and serve our brothers?
What if we humbled ourselves the way in which He humbled Himself?
Think the world would look a little different?

The self-giving, other-centered love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit was on full display in Jesus. Willingly He gave Himself to it, and shared it with us. As we learn what it means to walk in the Spirit, we discover this amazing ability to do the same. We were already created in the image and likeness of God. Therefore, we have no reason to withhold from others what He has given to us so freely.

Easy to believe. Much harder to live out.
I'm sure you must be thinking it. I'm sure that somewhere along the way you have been faced with this dilemma. Will I forgive the way Christ has forgiven? Am I willing to serve the needs of my brethren? Will I go the extra mile, turn the other cheek, and suffer loss for the sake of another? Probably not in your own ability or power. But the Spirit of God is committed to forming Christ in you. And you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength.

My wife had an encounter the other day that I had experienced years ago. Thinking about the statement Jesus made in the Sermon on the Mount about blessing those who curse you, etc. It was in that moment that she began to pray that the Lord would bless some individuals. The Lord spoke to her so clearly that it almost seemed audible. "Jennifer, I AM already blessing them. I love them as much as I love you. I have asked you to bless them."

This is where we often fall short. We tend to ask God to do all of this stuff, when He has already given to us what we need. As He has blessed us, we should bless others. As He has forgiven, we should forgive. There is nothing that we have received from the Father that is safe in any of this. All of it can be, and should be, given away. You have this authority in the Earth. Remember Jesus' words to the disciples about being welcomed into a home? He said, "Allow your peace to rest upon it." You have something to give.

What if we opened up our lives to this reality? What if we took the words of Jesus seriously? What if we blessed those who cursed us? Forgave those who harmed us? Extended mercy to those who had been without mercy towards us? That is exactly what the Kingdom of Heaven looks like. Freely received - Freely given. In Jesus' name.