Wash My Feet, Lord

"Wash My Feet, Lord"

I am a sinner, saved by grace, loving and loved by the Saviour, and striving to live the words of Scripture throughout my sanctification. I need to be convicted and changed more into the image of Christ. I desire to share with you, within this blog, all that I am daily learning. I want to serve Christ and become more and more like Him. I don’t want to live a legalistic life, but I do want to live a holy one. I want to see God receive the glory He deserves. I want to see the depth and richness of the Gospel come back to the Church. I want to see God’s people encouraging and building one another up in Christ. I want to encourage young people, and be encouraged by them, to live a set-apart life. I want to give up my life for the sake of the Kingdom and it’s King.
May you accept what is written here, if it truly honors the Lord, as coming from a heart that purely wants to honor Jesus Christ, my Savior. As He teaches me, rebukes me, corrects me, and trains me in righteousness, I hope to grow in my knowledge and love for Him. May everything that is said here bring Him glory. If I stray from the truths of Scriptures, please tell me. May my words be full of grace, as though seasoned with salt. May "the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.” (Ps. 19:14)

Monday, November 2, 2009

Matthew 20:20-28

“Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him. And He said to her, "What do you wish?" She said to Him, "Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on Your right and one on Your left.
But Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?" They said to Him, "We are able."
He said to them, "My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and on Me left, this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.
And hearing this, the ten became indignant with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them.
"It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

Again I was reminded this week of my Saviour’s humble attitude. The greatest act of love was when the Son of God lay down His life. He drank the cup of death that we may have eternal life. And now He asks us, “Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” “Are You prepared to deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me?” “Are you willing to go to the ends of the earth with My Gospel message that may cost you your life?” The Greatest became the Least. The King became the Servant. The One who deserved glory hung on a scornful cross.

The passage goes on to say,

“As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him.
And two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!"
The crowd sternly told them to be quiet, but they cried out all the more, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!"
And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?"
They said to Him, "Lord, we want our eyes to be opened."
Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.”

I am struck by this right now as I read it. We are all born blind. Spiritually blind. There is only one way to see the Light, and only the Light can make us see. He has placed His Light in our hearts and drawn us to its brilliance and splendour. He has caused our darkness to vanish, opening up our eyes to see His glory. He gives us the realization of our own sin and He gives us a remedy: “What do you want Me to do for you?” to which we cry, “Lord, we want our eyes to be opened.” And He, the great I Am, “moved with compassion”, touches our hearts and opens our eyes.

Now what are we to do?

Follow Him.

1 comment:

Wisconsin FarmgirlsNovember 6, 2009 at 10:58 AM
Loving it, Sarah!
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Wash My Feet, Lord

This blog is about sin, salvation, sanctification, and the Savior. The title comes from John 13. The book of Luke tells of the disciples arguing in the upper room during the Passover meal about who was the greatest. All too proud to humble themselves, the twelve were stunned into silence as Jesus gently brought out the basin of water and a towel and washed the feet of the ones He loved. But when He comes to Peter, he says to Jesus, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.”Pastor John Macarthur explains this passage in his NASB notes on John 13: 6-10, “While others remained silent, Peter, perhaps on behalf of others, spoke up in indignation that Jesus would stoop so low as to wash his feet. He failed to see beyond the humble service itself to the symbolism of spiritual cleansing involved. Jesus’ response made the real point of His actions clear: Unless the Lamb of God cleanses a person’s sin (as portrayed in the symbolism of washing), one can have no part with Him. The cleansing that Christ does at salvation never needs to be repeated – atonement is complete at that point. But all who have been cleansed by God’s gracious justification need constant washing in the experiential sense as they battle sin in the flesh. Believers are justified and granted imputed righteousness, but still need sanctification and personal righteousness.”So here lies the essence of this blog. We are all sinners in desperate need of salvation. After we are declared righteous by God - justified, and repent of our sin, we live the lifelong process of sanctification. This is only possible because of the Saviour. Just as Peter and the disciples needed Jesus to wash their feet, so, too, do we need Jesus to forgive us and cleanse us of the sin in our lives. We need His correction, reproof, teaching, and discipline throughout our lives. For those who do not know Christ, the entire body must be cleansed, but for those who have been given new hearts, we must recognize our utter helplessness without Him and say, “Lord, wash my feet.”