Learning Through Experience

^'Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.”' John 13:7 (NLT

He called that one right. He always does. And yet, at times when I read what He has done for me to set the example, it just seems to make no sense. To the senses , His Love, on display for the whole world to see, is magnificent, is unimaginably complex and yet to the heart it is purely simple.  This one act I am to do is like that. Foot washing.

It's not that hard to see why that act of foot washing would be necessary. Right? I get it. He did it. I am to obey. But. Sin is so filthy. We can get ourselves into the darkest and strongest of smelly type worldly messes. What He has said and what He has done were all part of His plan and had a heavenly purpose.  Magnificent splendor awaits me in the after. Back to reality in the present. How might I, the worshiper, humble myself enough to bend the knee to my neighbor? That requires a huge change in my prideful heart. That requires a spiritual change in my sinner's heart.

So, the act of washing their feet was a symbol to them. Their feet were dirty, no doubt, but it wasn't the dirt on the outside that needed cleaned. Jesus washed their feet as an example to us that we should never think so highly of ourselves to refuse to bend the knee to help another. He focused on the feet as an example, for there is nothing below them, and that there really should be nothing that we would consider beneath us to do for the Glory of God. He washed their feet to show them that we need spiritual washing and cleansing of the soul from the effects of sin. 

Cleanse me. Heal me. Make me one of Your own. Clean the outside of me, so that I might know You and accept You as my Savior and then You will save me and cleanse the inner most parts of my spirit from within.

Everyone whom Christ has saved belongs to Him. We are His sons and daughters. We have been cleansed spiritually by Him and have had our sins washed away and are part of Him. He saves us. He justifies us. He sanctifies us. We are saved to the uttermost, from now until eternity. 

And yet, there are still some who do not believe. For their pride will not allow them to see their need, or they believe the Story to be too good to be true. How could the birth of a child change the whole world? Yet it did. The flesh cries out for more. And yet, the facts still remain, there is work to be done, there can be no access to the Father except through His Son. Because of Grace, He has made a simple way for our sins to be made clean and it is because Christ Loves us so much and it is through the washing that Christ saves us. He is willing to do it for us and through us to reach others.

The depth of that Love for me He is constantly revealing. And I can never begin to repay or to understand it all, so that is why this verse has depth of meaning for me. I don't have to know it all, just this simple truth. Because I was made clean yesterday, it is easier to avoid the temptations of each day and to accept and to give help to my brothers and sisters whatever the call. I am still learning, I am still a student of the Gospel, and through His patience and the experiences of life, I am learning. Through His Word and because of His Spirit, He is making things known to me.

Dear Father. Thank you for the gift of Salvation. Thank You for Your Son. Thank You for Your Word. Thank You for Your Spirit. Thank You for the act of love that You showed to me when You poured out Your Love that day for Your Disciples when You washed their feet. You, the Lord, humbled Yourself so that we might see how to be humble. You, the Lord, hung on the Cross so that we might see Love and be saved. Thank You for the brothers and sisters that love me through my darkest days. Thank You for Your Mercy. Thank You for Your Grace. Thank You for making things known to me. Thank You for cleansing me and making me one of Your very own. Happy birthday Jesus. Amen.

Source: 'Drummingthemessagehome', December 23, 2019 blog post.