Right way, continued...

John 13:1-17:
"1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. 2 And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, 4 rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. 5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. 6 Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, 'Lord, are You washing my feet?' 7 Jesus answered and said to him, 'What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.' 8 Peter said to Him, 'You shall never wash my feet!'
Jesus answered him, 'If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.' 9 Simon Peter said to Him, 'Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!' 10 Jesus said to him, 'He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.' 11 For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, 'You are not all clean.' 12 So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, 'Do you know what I have done to you 13 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.'"

There are more than a couple of sermons worth of material here but since this is about the way I was being slapped about the head, I'm going to shortchange those possible discussions to something very short and sweet...

This was it. Whether I took it from John 13, Ephesians 5, 1 Corinthians 13 and 16, 1 Peter 2 and 5, Hebrews 13, James 4, Romans 13, etc., the message of submission and subjection is the same.

How was I washing the feet of the people around me? The simple, ugly answer was for the most part, I wasn't.

Starting at home with my wife and children and in my church with my dear brothers, where was I serving myself and my pride instead of fulfilling the needs of those around me? Pretty much everywhere.

This prideful self-service was not blatant to most, I'm sure. White-wash covers a multitude of issues. But inside I loved myself more than even I would admit, even justifying my prideful vision with beautiful garments ("I'm just trying to get a job." "I'm leading our devotions." "I'm reading the Bible." "I'm 'PRAYING',", etc.)

We're called to submit to God and evidence that submission in the way we are with our neighbors. But often we are so filled with pride we cannot even see what submission really is until God breaks that pride into bits, either by the giant smash of a trial that removes the ground from beneath our spiritual (and often physical and/or mental and/or emotional) feet, or, through the erosion of the Holy Spirit on our spirit through day by day sanctification or, often, both. The essence of the matter, though, is always focusing on God's service either in worship or by subjecting ourselves to one another rather than self-service.

So that morning just before dawn, my question became "How can I wash the feet of my loved ones?" And, I was a changed man! For at least the next 48 hours, I actually focused on this question and sometimes even changed my behavior to answer it well.

Then I backslid. Then I asked for forgiveness and did better. Then something came up that distracted me. Then I asked for forgiveness and did better. Rinse and repeat.

Admittedly, my experience has not been of the lightning bolt change to life where I have a sin that dies and every permutation of that sin is gone forever from my life but it has been one of growth and improvement and good fruit such that my glimpses of blessed assurance have happened more often and the pain of sin is more poignantly felt every time they are committed. Submission, then, is following that pattern. Not smoothly nor ever easily, my seeking of the Kingdom of God, has become acceptable to Him. Yes, still in the way Lily's drawings of people are acceptable as people to me even though the resemblance is, ahem, lacking, but as loving offerings, honestly given.

So that's it. One of the ways to sacrifice well to God is to wash the feet of those around us. Simple, huh?