Surfing the Inner N8

Yesterday at CrossWay we wrapped up the miniseries on ordinances with a message on foot washing. Although foot washing is inarguably a Mennonite ordinance, it seems to me like so much more. In the story of Jesus washing His disciples’ feet (in John 13:1-17), Jesus was calling us not to a rite but to a lifestyle of service.

Since He was God, Jesus could have been and done anything He wanted. He could have had the most comfortable, exciting, enjoyable, luxurious life. Instead He chose to put aside His rights and privileges as God, not using them for His own advantage (Philippians 2:5-11). He chose to wash the dirty, nasty feet of His followers. He chose to live in a poor family among an oppressed people. He chose to serve. He chose to die an excruciating death. Why? Because He loves us.

After washing His disciples’ feet, Jesus told them–and us–that He was setting an example for us to follow. And He promised to bless us when we serve others as He has served us. If nothing is beneath Jesus, what could possibly be beneath us?

The podcast will be up in a day or so, but I’ve got to warn you that the sickness I’ve had the past few days made my head really foggy. I felt like I couldn’t quite say what I was trying to say, like my words were separated from my thoughts by a cloud that I couldn’t navigate through. Frustrating. But I’m confident that God can still use even a bumbling work like this, because His Word is amazingly powerful.