Let’s pray:

Lord I come to you humbled that by Your grace I may have a new life.  Please use me as your willing & loving servantl reaching out to all as the light on the hill.  Please clear my mind & spirit as I listen to your words so that my words & actions become a symbol to all that I come into contact with today & in the future until I sit at the right of Jesus.   Amen.

John 13:2-5

New International Version (NIV)

² The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴ so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵ After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

Wow, what humility! Jesus knew he had all the power from God the Father & that he was going to be betrayed by Judas.  Yet he “lowers” himself by performing the lowest of tasks normally performed by the servants of washing his disciples disgusting feet.  What an incredible act of servanthood & grace of willingly washing the feet of the ones that would betray him.

But, that is exactly the point.  Jesus knew who he was & that he had all of the power.  He was so confident & humble that he did not have to prove it or justify himself.  That is exactly what ultimate power is-You don’t have to have a gun, have people afraid of you, or be in a position of importance to be powerful!

Here was Jesus so confident & sure of himself that he did not care what others thought.

Boy that is confidence!  I find myself always worrying about what others think!

I have to admit, that I have a hard time being humble or a servant.  I relish attention & praise.  I sometimes grudgingly serve.  I know that I should be doing something so I do it more out of obligation than out of love and compassion.  And how would I ever handle humbly serving people that I don’t like or that are not “loyal” to me?  Yet here is Jesus washing their feet!  I think my pride might get in the way.

Yet that is exactly the point.  Pride is probably one of the greatest sins.  The only way to defeat pride and power is through humility and prayer.  I think a person sometimes has to be broken or humbled to figure out that they are not as good or as important as they thought.

Jesus provides the blueprint.  Real power is through humility & prayer.  So I will continue to pray that I become more humble & a more willing servant.  Through prayer I will gain true power.

How do you feel about this?  Do you have a problem being a humble servant?  I would love to hear from you.

Have a Blessed week,

Jerry