Monday, November 7, 2011

Are You Telling Jesus No?

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

What is beneath you? What job or chore have you vowed never to do? What are you determined not to do for someone else? What is the one thing you will not do for Jesus?

Oh, come on. Don’t tell me you didn’t see that question coming? It may not be pretty. It might not be filled with glory. But Jesus clearly showed us that we are to do any task He calls us to -- including washing the dirty feet of those around us.

Uh-oh. That really wasn’t what we had in mind. We’d rather be the person who heads the committee and tells everyone else what to do. We’d rather write a check or go shopping for supplies or attend a fancy luncheon to hear someone speak about a worthy cause. We’re willing to do a great many things so long as we don’t have to get dirty.

Except that doesn’t fit with what we were called to do. Jesus never said that following Him would always be pretty. He didn’t promise glory or riches or a life of ease. In fact, He indicated that following Him wouldn’t be easy. And, sometimes, it’s dirty. Because helping people in need sometimes requires us to leave our comfort zones and actually be Jesus’ hands and feet.

So what would you do for Jesus? Would you clean the bathroom of an elderly person too feeble to do it for herself? Would you visit an old man you do not know because he’s lonely and sick and has no one else? Would you invite a homeless person who hasn’t had a bath in awhile to sit beside you during church services? Would you comfort a young girl who just found out she’s pregnant? Would you visit a teenager in the cardboard box structure he calls home?

“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”

-- John 13:14-15

Jesus didn’t call us to a comfortable life merely sitting on cushioned pews. He called us to go out into the world, representing Him and helping people who are hurting and in need. So I’ll ask you again: What is the one thing you will not do for Jesus? Go do it today.