About a month ago, I was privileged to attend Jackson & Smith County Youth Camp (JSCYC for short) 2019 at Taylor Christian Camp in Holland, Kentucky. This was my fifth year going to camp, and it was one of the best weeks yet.
We studied throughout the week at camp about the last week of Jesus’s life. We called this “The week that changed the world.” One of the lessons was about Jesus washing the disciple’s feet. What does this story teach us?
John 13:1-17 is where this story is found, and I would encourage everyone to read it if you can. Jesus, after the Last Supper was concluded, did something that was a job for the lowest servant. He washed the apostles’ feet. I don’t know about you, but I would not want to wash anyone’s feet. These men had been walking for days on dusty roads covered with animal waste and other gross stuff. They might have had sandals, but their feet would have been filthy. Can you imagine the smell? Washing those dirty feet would have been a job that should have been done when they entered the house, but for whatever reason, this was not done.
Jesus shows what being a servant means when He washed their feet. Being a servant means seeing a need and taking care of it. Jesus, the Son of God, the One who was in the coming days going to die for us, the One who created us, showed what it meant to be a servant by doing this disgusting task.
We can be servants today in the church. We probably won’t have to wash any feet, but we may have to do other unpleasant things or things that are out of our comfort zone. If Jesus, the Son of the Living God, could wash the stinky feet of a man that was about to betray Him, then we can visit a shut-in member, or we can help clean up after a fellowship meal.
We need more servants in the Church today. We need people who are willing to do the hard things, the unpleasant things, and the things no one else wants to do – we need servants! One of my favorite songs is To Be Like Jesus, and if we are going to be like Jesus, we must be servants.
Are you a servant? Another song I love is Make Me a Servant; it goes like this: “Lord make me a servant, Lord make me like you, for you are a servant make me one too. Lord, make me a servant do what you must do, to make me a servant, make me like you.” We need to make this our prayer every day. Are you a servant?