13 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.”8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet,[a] but is completely clean. And you[b] are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant[c] is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” John 13:1-17
In John 13, Jesus shows us true humility and selflessness. Jesus was preparing for the end of His life on this Earth, yet instead of laying around in self-pity or finishing off his “bucket list” with a bunch of crazy adventures, Jesus did something completely selfless. Jesus stood up from the table and started to wash His disciples feet. One by one he washed each of his disciples’ feet knowing that each of them would deny Him soon after. Can you imagine washing the feet of your enemies? Jesus loved His disciples unconditionally and He knew that they would betray Him and turn their back on Him before His death, yet He looked past that and selflessly washed their feet.
Jesus even washed the feet of Judas knowing that He would be the one that turned Him in for his crucifixion. Judas would trade His friend, His Savior for a few coins, yet Jesus washed His feet.
How hard is it for you to love your enemies or the ones that hurt you the most? In my experiences, people are not always the easiest to get along with. We are all different, and we all have different opinions and attitudes. At times, people can be hard to get along with…some more than others, but we have to remember that Jesus wants us to love them like He does (even when it is hard).
If Jesus can wash the feet of His disciples knowing that they would betray Him soon after, why can’t we even smile at the ones that hurt us the most?
I challenge you to pray for your enemies and practice selflessness when it would be much easier to just be selfish and mean.
Pray for…
- Your enemies and the ones that hurt you the most
- Your parents when you disagree
- Your siblings
- Your teachers
- And anyone else that you find hard to get along with
Practice Selflessness…
- Stop yourself before speaking negatively about your enemies (say a prayer or walk away if you can’t think of anything nice to say)
- Smile more – you never know what someone else is going through
- Forgive often – forgiveness is hard but Jesus teaches us to forgive. Even when He was on the cross Jesus asked His Father to forgive the ones that hurt Him. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they’ve done.”
- Shower your enemies with kindness. (randomly compliment them, don’t respond negatively to their remarks, practice being more like Christ)
I know this is a tough challenge so I’ll definitely be in prayer for you! (and myself as well)
Have a great week ladies!
May God Bless you and Show you His Grace every day!
**Don’t forget about the concert this weekend! Al Harris is great and you don’t want to miss out on this great event!
