A Daily Devotion for Thursday, April 2
- ontrakk
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
John 15:9-17
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit —fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.”
John 13:13-14
“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.”
Tonight we will have a Maundy Thursday service. We will symbolically wash one another’s hands. Once many years ago, during a Maundy Thursday service, we washed each other’s feet. Although the symbolism is huge, I am afraid much of that meaning may have been lost in the discomfort and embarrassment of having my feet handled by someone I didn’t know very well. And foot washing is not part of our routine, as it was in Christ’s time on earth. Sometimes I try to think of something in our culture that might carry similar weight and meaning. I think hand washing is a good choice, as it is intimate and yet “everyday”. These are the kind of things we need to be willing to do for one another. This is the command of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Holy Lord, help me to see opportunities and then be willing to follow through. Help me to show my love to others in unexpected ways. Thank you for sending your Son, my Savior and commander, Jesus Christ. Amen
Becky, transforming
John 15:9-17/John 13:13-14
In the stunning act of washing the disciples’ feet in chapter 13, Jesus’ new commandment in chapter 15 is put into proper context and carries with it great power. There is no better demonstration of the Christian concept of servant leadership than these passages. An effective leader is one who is able, and more importantly, willing to get into the trenches with their team, performing what may be considered the lowliest of tasks for the good of all concerned. We must never forget, however, the Savior who washes our feet is also our Lord to whom we owe our very lives. His commandment to love one another is to be our rule of and for life.
Prayer…