I like dirt.

I am not necessarily the cleanest person. Don't get me wrong, I shower and like to be clean, but I don't necessarily mind being dirty either. Some people really need to be clean, and of course there are those people who are always dirty. Those categories probably cover most of the human population. This may be an odd way to start off this contemplation, but it leads to one of my favorite stories about Jesus. Look at John 13:1-17.

In this time period, it was customary to have a servant or somebody low in the house wash the feet of the guests when they entered into the house. This was due to the dusty conditions of the area and people walking everywhere in sandals. But in this chapter we see that no one had done that for Jesus or His disciples upon entering. This may have been a common occurrence for them to eat while dirty after their travels (much like I would do). But Jesus teaches them a major lesson about servitude when He gets up from the table and makes Himself into a servant by taking off his outer clothing and washing His disciples feet! As we read on in the story we can see that Peter has realized what is going on and tries to make up for it telling Jesus "you can't wash my feet." But when Jesus tells him that it needs to be done, Peter of course, puts his foot in his mouth again (no pun intended).

So what is the point of this story? Is it about being dirty? Is it about being cleaned? Or is it about humble servitude to others? Read over vs. 14-17 a few times. What is God telling you? Share your thoughts at www.fbcacrossfire.blogspot.com.