In Hebrews 13:5, God says, “I will never leave you nor
forsake you.” Many Christians take that promise as a means of comfort. But
we should also take it as a means of conviction. And a means of courage.
Hear what God is saying to you when he says I’ll never leave
you or forsake you. Comfort – He loves you, he feels your pain, and he’s not
leaving you. Conviction – He guides you
to come towards him, not towards sin. Courage – He knows your situation, and he
is with you to help you.
You can know a lot of facts about God. You can know a lot of
theology. Those are good things to learn. But you should also learn to nurture the
sense of living Coram Deo – which means “before the face of God,” or “in
God’s presence.” Always, at all times, in all places, and all situations, God sees
you, knows you, and loves you. Knowing God’s presence will change your life.
I’m sure you’ve seen the ads on commercials, billboards, or
the Internet, that says “He gets us.” And it means that Jesus gets us. The ad
shows people who are misfits, outcast, downtrodden, marginalized, and
oppressed. And the idea is that Jesus knows what that’s like and what you’re
going through. And that’s true. But that’s not the whole message. Because
there’s more to it than just that. I mean, are we just misfits in society? Or
are we also defiant rebels against God? And so yes, Jesus gets us. He
understands us and what we’re up against. But he doesn’t just get us. He wants
to take us and make us into someone that understands him. Yes, Jesus gets you.
But do you get him?
In John chapter 13, at the Last Supper of Jesus and his
disciples before Christ went to the cross, he washed his disciple’s feet. And
in vs.14-15, Jesus said – 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 also should do just as I have done to you.
Jesus wasn’t merely speaking about washing people’s physical
feet. And he wasn’t saying to only wash the feet of those who are your closest
companions. Jesus was giving an example of love. It wasn’t a transactional kind
of love. It was love that gave without expectations of reciprocity. He served
their need without asking to them to serve his need. Jesus wasn’t giving them
something to them in order to get something from them.
His motivation wasn’t personal gain. His motivation was
love. True love, not transactional love. And that’s where the rest of us often
struggle. We serve, maybe even sacrificially, but we look for something in
return. Recognition from those we help, being noticed by others who see our
good deeds, praise from people who say we live right, whatever benefit we might
get that leads somewhere for me. We instinctively see love as an exchange, and
we use love as a trade for something else.
But that’s not what Jesus did, or said for us to do. In
fact, Jesus didn’t ask for them to wash his feet. And he washed the feet of
those who were about to fail him on his way to the cross. Including Peter, who
denied him. And Judas, who betrayed him. Jesus knew this. The disciples had
nothing that they could give Jesus in return for what he was going to do for
them. And us. This is why we sing, “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy
cross I cling.”
Jesus stooped down to his knees, to wash the dirty feet of
those who didn’t love him as well as he loved them. He didn’t have anything to
gain. But he taught us that when we remove transaction from service, it becomes
love. Jesus loved them, with an act that had no self-interest.
Think about a loved one you served just because you loved
them. With no expectation of them “paying you back.” Like changing the diaper
of a small child. Or giving to someone in need who you’ll never see again. It
has happened in your life. But if you really think about it, it’s probably a
lot less frequent that you might have thought at first.
So, is there someone you’re serving that can’t pay you back?
When we care for someone without looking for an earthly return, we are laying
up treasure in heaven (Matthew 6:20). We are following the new commandment of
the new covenant.
In John 13:34-35, Jesus said – A new commandment I give
to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to
love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another. This is what we know as “the law of
Christ (Galatians 6:2).” It is what Jesus’s brother James called, “The royal law
(James 2:8).” It is the law of love (Romans 13:8-10 / Galatians 5:13-14).
That’s the evidence of your discipleship – a love that is
true, not simply transactional. A love that serves even when it’s not seen. A
love that gives even when it doesn’t get. A love that counts the cost as worth
it for Christ.
The Apostle Paul said the goal of our teaching is love – The
aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience
and a sincere faith (1 Timothy 1:5). Has your love reached the
“point of no return” with someone? Where you eventually gave up on them because
you didn’t get back from them?
No one washed Jesus’ feet. He washed their feet and said
they ought to do the same for each other. But then there is still a possible
transactional case here because for the disciples, and maybe especially for us
today, washing other’s feet could become “I’ll wash your feet if and when
you’ll wash mine.” But the disciples had another example, from someone other
than Jesus, only a few days before this supper, which demonstrated what Jesus said
before he even said it.
You see, there was another supper before the Last Supper.
And someone DID wash Jesus’ feet. And it cost her plenty. But she did it with
no other motivation but love for the Lord.
In John chapter 12, Mary of Bethany took a pound of
expensive ointment…and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her
hair. Judas protested, knowing that the money from the ointment could have
gone into his pockets. His transactional heart was exposed. He didn’t have
gratitude, he had greed. But Jesus said leave her alone. And speaking of the
same event, Matthew 26:13, Jesus says – Truly, I say to you, wherever this
gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in
memory of her.
Mary wasn’t being transactional. She was giving worship and
love, and Jesus says this will be remembered. If we know Jesus, we should
follow Jesus. We are not burdened by having to fulfill all sorts of exacting
rules and standards. We are called to fulfill the commandment of Christ, the
law of love. If you want to wash the feet of others, if you want to show Jesus’
love so that people will glorify God, if you want to know Christ in a deeper,
more fulfilling way, go and do likewise. Don’t demand that people help you in
the way you want to be helped, or you’ll say they are unloving. Instead, serve people
with true love, not simply transactional love. A love that serves even when
it’s not seen. A love that gives even when it doesn’t get. A love that counts
the cost as worth it for Christ. Amen.
