Thursday, September 9, 2010

Serve Others In All Things

"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

I doubt Jesus' disciples ever expected the man they knew to be the Messiah would wash their dirty feet. Yet, He did. He came to serve and to teach and to save the world by sacrificing His life. This was His example to all of us. Serve. Humble yourself. Consider yourself no better than anyone else.

I am amazed sometimes at the people who refuse to do the menial tasks in life. I'm talking about people who label themselves as solid Christians leading good christian lives. They'll be glad to write a check. Need a speaker, host a luncheon, say a prayer -- no problem. It's the other things they have trouble with.

A few years ago a good friend lost her mother. Her father, grieving his mate of more than 65 years, came to live with she and her husband. This elderly man needed help. He had accidents during the night. Bathing alone was difficult. His son-in-law wouldn't help. Flat out refused. Oh, he'd stay with him at home. He'd feed him and talk with him. But he wouldn't do any of those personal things. In less than six weeks, the old man was dead. He'd gone home to be with his wife.

The other man was a solid source of comfort for his wife as she grieved. Fast forward to a year or so later. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor that would later take his life. But during the months of battle, then decline, this man came to know something of what his father-in-law had felt. He understood how humbling it is when your body fails and you have accidents in the night. He learned how it felt to have a loved one change your adult diaper and bath you in the shower. I wonder if he ever wished he could have a do-over with his father-in-law.

It's so easy to shove aside the needs of another. We don't want to be the friend that does the laundry. We don't want to be the relative that stays the night -- night after night. We don't want to be the volunteer that takes out the trash. And we don't want to be the caregiver that changes the adult diapers. And, yet, how can we follow Jesus without being available to do all those things and more.