FreeTruth

Have you ever had someone wash your feet? I'm not sure you can fully enter into the emotion of the scene in John 13:1-15 if you have not. Recently we were discussing this scene at our care group. One of our young women commented on what it would have been like to be sitting above our Lord as he humbled himself in the position of a slave or servant to wash our dirty feet while looking up into our eyes. Could we bear such a moment?

Eight years ago as we prepared to take our youth group to Brazil I had to sit above one of the young men who had diligently served me in this project for two years. He asked to wash my feet and the emotion I felt towards him at that moment made me understand why Peter would blurt out, "Lord, you shall never wash my feet." It was deeply humbling. As tears flooded my eyes, it was actually painful having someone I cared so much about take a position of humility below me and look into my eyes.

Jesus then wraps his garment around him and sits back at the table. Were the disciples dumbfounded, in shock, having watched Jesus lovingly touch each disciple? Were they were confused? Did their hearts burn with love?

He says to them, "If I then, your Lord, and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you." This act of great humility Jesus meant as a teaching tool, to be followed by his atoning sacrifice on the cross.

We are to take up our cross and follow him daily. But what about washing one another's feet or, perhaps more applicable, serving one another with the humility of Philippians 2, putting ourselves beneath the concerns of another brother or sister in Christ?

I think this example is one we all embrace in our "one anothering," yet do we remember that Judas was also one whom Jesus knelt before, perhaps looked into his face and washed his dirty feet knowing full well his dirty heart. That reality causes my heart to cry out along with John, "Behold, what kind of love is this?"

It is a self denying love, a hard love to live up to, a love that we desperately need to have infused into our hearts from our Father. It is the love that resided in Jesus as he set His face toward Jerusalem. This Lenten season, ponder this love, setting our affections upon the Lover, by grace getting beneath our brothers and sisters, taking advantage of opportunities to serve. Perhaps in the process we will be blessed to see them with the eyes of Jesus and cultivate a deeper love for one another.

Holding a feeble hand of a weak brother, encouraging the faint heart of a sister, admonishing a rebel soul back towards repentance to their loving Savior, will all result in new affections in our hearts towards one another and a greater appreciation for our Teacher who led us by His humble example as seen in John 13:1-15.

by Pat Bowditch

Labels: God's Love, Guest Post, Humility, Lent, Servanthood, The Love of Christ

It may sound strange but I've often said that the job of a pastor is not finished until his sheep all die, or he does; whichever comes first. He must labor for the souls, and spiritual safety and well-being of his flock until each sheep crosses the finish line and enters into heaven. Until then there can be no ease, no rest, no taking a life break.

In my devotions this morning I came across Numbers 32:18. The context is that the Israelites are about to take over the promised land, the inheritance promised by God. As that is kicking off, two tribes (Reuben and Gad) ask if they can settle just east of there. Moses isn't happy because it appears that they want to settle down and take their ease before the rest of their fellow Israelites enter the promised rest and ease of the land.

In response Reuben and Gad make this promise in Numbers 32:18--"We will not return to our homes until each of the people of Israel has gained his inheritance."

This is the way every Christian (not just every pastor) should view life. Life here and now is not about settling down into ease, rest, or retirement; it's about making sure that all the fellow Christians God has connected us to (beginning of course in our families and then in our local church) make it to heaven, their inheritance.

While we are certainly to take periodic Sabbath rests for spiritual and physical replenishment, there is to be no real ease until heaven. So long as I have brothers and sisters who are in the wilderness of this life, and struggling to make it in faith; so long as I have members of my body (the local church) who need encouragement and admonition and help and love and counsel and hope; so long as I have fellow spiritual travelers who have not yet entered their eternal rest, I cannot rest or settle or take my ease.

Rest will come in heaven. Eternity is the Christian's retirement plan. Until then I must labor and lay down my life in behalf of the people of God. And so must every single Christian. This is not for pastors only. It's for every parent, every care group leader, every care group member, every single member of every single church. Each of us is his or her brother's and sister's keeper.

So long as we have one brother or sister who needs encouragement to keep on keeping on against all the foes of body and spirit, we must fight and labor on in their behalf. Let none of us return to his home for rest until everyone of us has gained his inheritance.

Let there be ease only in eternity.

Labels: Church, Love, Servanthood

Gayline cut my hair last evening. As she did, I multi-tasked by training Heidi (our dog) to stay in one place.

Heidi's confiscated one of our hassocks as her "resting" place, typically for about 33 seconds at a shot. We'd prefer her to stay there longer (something closer to 33 hours per shot) so she's not getting into mischief and driving us nuts.

After getting Heidi into place my training consisted of uttering a loud gutteral "Eh!!" every time she began to get up. "Eh!!" is master-speak for a serious sounding "no". When uttered quick and really, really loud, it works.

So while Gayline is snipping my hair I'm hawk-eyeing Heidi to "Eh!!" her every time she shows a hint of relocating. After a couple of early miscues, Heidi got it, and stayed there for about 20 minutes while I kept a vigilant eye. This meant that two things were going on at once: Gayline was focusing on cutting my hair; I was focusing on "Ehing" Heidi. Both required attention, and therefore 20 minutes of nearly complete silence.

We probably should have seen it coming. When Heidi eventually made a quick move and I erupted with a quick really, really loud "Eh!!!", Gayline, much to the surprise of us both, displayed greater veritical abilities than I ever did on a basketball court. My silence shattering "Eh!!" nearly separated my wife from her skin.

Only then did we realize the perilous spot into which I had been placed: she with both sharp scissors (with easy skin piercing capacity) and with electric able-to-shave-off-a-whole-section-of-hair-in-a-second clippers in hand, and me with voice poised to let out a loud piercing attention seizing and silence shattering command to my dog. It never occured to us that we might be headed for either blood or blunder. Thankfully I was spared a major head or hair disaster.

But it all made me think. Gayline could easily have done some damage that folks would have seen behind a pulpit for a month of Sundays. What if she had? How would I have responded? I think that I would have laughed it off, but I'm not sure I want to try it out to see.

What I do know is this: Gayline was not in the least bit angry with me for scaring her out of her skin. Why not? Because she had the grace to know that in the moment I was not acting sinfully or selfishly, but was doing something for the family, for her, for our son, for the betterment of our home.

She overlooked the unpleasantness of having her nerves go "boiiiing" because she saw the bigger picture of my intentions and efforts. I'm grateful for her grace.

There's a lesson there for life: Friends, we often bump up against each other unintentionally while we're doing or intending good things. We just don't see it coming. We're trying to serve. We're thinking of the good of others or of the church. We're pitching in. We're even committed to PEGI (see the 3/1/09 entry), but we're unaware of how this might create a tension or problem with someone else equally committed to service and love. It happens because we're on two very good but very different about-to-collide wavelengths at the same time.

There are times when we're all working toward the same ends, but get in each other's way in the process. These are times for forbearance, for cutting each other a lot of slack, for being grateful instead of angry, full of mercy rather than full of wrath.

So when good efforts meet up with tense moments, let's let love prevail.

Labels: Forbearance, Love, Mercy, Relationship, Servanthood

This morning I spoke about four principles of Christian service which the Bible is pretty clear about (1 Peter 4:7-11), but too often I (we?) fall short in. I borrowed someone else's acrostic to hook these in people's minds:

P-roactivity: a commitment to foresee problems and possibilities, and to take intitiative as good stewards of God's gifts to address them with energy.
E-xcellence: a commitment to serve in all we do with the highest quality and skill which our available resources of time, energy, and money will allow.
G-ratitude: a commitment to serve with a spirit of thankfulness: to God for His abounding grace in our lives; to others for how they serve the church; to others for the privilege we have in serving them.
I-ntegrity: a commitment to keep the serving promises we make, to fulfill all our responsibilities with persevering grace, to be dependable in all ways.

If you'd like a more complete look at the PEGI way of life, click to listen and learn.

Now I should warn you that pursuing PEGI will require a lot of discernment and wisdom. Since PEGI isn't for slackers, and cannot be applied evenly to every single role and responsibility we have, we need to pick our involvements and set our priorities carefully.

Here are a few rules of thumb:
1. Don't overcommit. While many Christians need to be involved in more ministry, some need to be involved in less. People spread too thin cannot practice PEGI well. Learn to say "no". (Caveat: Don't be too quick to say "no" just because a commitment involves challenge and sacrifice. If your commitments to Christ in His church are not involving great sacrifice, you're shortchanging His call on your life. My point is: just be ready to say "no" if your present level of sacrifice will preclude you from applying PEGI in any kind of meaningful way, to an additional responsibility.)

2. Ask your spouse, parents, care group leader, pastor, trusted mature Christian advisor for input on whether you should take on another ministry. TFC pastors have often challenged people to do less, so that they might avoid family or personal burn-out, and so that they might do what they do, better.

3. Once you've settled on your role (having received input from spiritual leaders)sit down with the PEGI principles in hand and go to work on applying them. Check out the evaluation and application questions we've provided and start pursuing PEGI today. Remember the very essence of PEGI-guided ministry begins with being proactive. That means you have to initiate, and take action. Do something today that applies PEGI today to the responsibilities you have today.

And remember as you do, that you can only pursue PEGI by the strength which God supplies. That way, when you capture her you'll make sure to give Him all the glory (1 Peter 4:7-11)!

Any comments or questions?

Labels: Servanthood, Spiritual Gifts