Humbly Serve
Now that I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. John 13:14 NIV
I don’t want to do “this!” Do I really have to do this. I didn’t sign up for this. There must be someone else who can do this. I am not dressed for this. THIS is humbleness in action. Jesus tears away all the excuses we can conjure up in our minds. He simply says, “Do this!” Jeannie Blackmer, contributing author for Mornings with Jesus, shares a true story.
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One winter day, I went to help my friend Amy muck out alpaca stalls. She was helping her elderly neighbor, who owned an alpaca farm and had broken his leg. She advised me to wear warm clothes, gloves, boots that could get dirty, and glasses, because sometimes alpacas spit.
When I arrived, Amy gave me a rake, a shovel, and a wheelbarrow and showed me how to clean the stalls. Primarily, my job consisted of clearing out the black, bean-shaped droppings. I had no idea alpacas pooped so much.
Amy and I raked mounds of dung, scooped it into the wheelbarrow, and dumped it on a nearby pile while the alpacas followed us around like puppies. The smell was awful, but I actually had fun.
Amy exemplified Jesus-like service as she joyfully dug in doing the thankless job of mucking stalls. Modeling Jesus by humbling herself and getting a bit dirty was a tangible way to show His love to her neighbor. She inspired me to do the same.
Jesus performed an unpleasant task, too, when He washed the disciples’ feet. It was a job performed by the lowest-ranking servants of that day. Because people wore sandals everywhere, their feet got filthy. After Jesus finished, He instructed the disciples to do this for each other. I imagine they weren’t thrilled with this command because it was a menial, dirty job.
Jesus challenges all of us to humbly serve others, sometimes doing messy, thankless tasks. Once you dig in, as I can attest, it can be quite enjoyable.
FAITH STEP: Like Jesus, humbly serve someone today.
Loving Father, thank You for being our eternal example of goodness. Help us to be more like You and make us Your willing servants—with humble hearts. AMEN.