¹² When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. ¹³ “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴ Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. -John 13:12-15

You know, I came across something on Facebook the other day, and it has really stuck with me ever since. It said,

“Sometimes I joke about what I’d do if I had one day left to live. Eat junk, go crazy, etc. Today it hit me: Jesus knew. and he washed feet.”

Talk about a wake up call. Jesus, our ultimate example of grace and servitude, knew that his time to die was near. The Bible even tells us earlier on in the passage that Jesus knew that he was going to be betrayed. And you know what he did? He served. He had every right (in our human minds) to sulk, to go crazy, to ‘spill the tea’ to the other disciples about how Judas had stabbed him in the back. But he didn’t. He humbled himself as a servant and washed the feet of the men that were closest to Him- even the one who he knew would betray him.

Let me just tell y’all- I have a foot phobia. I absolutely hate feet- I don’t know why, or when it started, but here we are. So, obviously, when I first heard the story of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet, I was grossed out. Back in this time period, the task of washing feet was for the lowliest of servants. So much so, that Peter tried to refuse Jesus’ help, saying that He would never wash his feet. It was that big of a deal.

So where does that leave us in today’s world? We are, without question, called to be servants and spread God’s love throughout the entire world. This doesn’t mean that we are all called to be in full-time ministry, or to stand at every corner shouting through a megaphone. We wash feet. We put aside our pride, our ego, and our status, and simply serve. Serve those that we know betray us (Judas). Serve those we know will later deny that they ever knew us (Peter). Love the ones that we think are ‘below’ us. Love those who are hard to love.

So, as I begin this journey of service in the UK, I ask that you keep me, and my team, in prayer. Pray that we can humble ourselves and love others the way that God called us to.

Love God. Love others.