Do As Jesus Did

"For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did."

John 13:15

Lord Jesus, You spoke these words to your disciples right after you washed their feet.  You came to serve;  You came to love your own to the fullest extent.  And You called them (and by extension, me) to do as You did.  Washing feet is humble work, especially for a teacher who washes the feet of his rather dense students.  Yet in this case, astoundingly, You also washed the feet of one student whom You knew to be plotting your demise AND one student whom You knew would deny You.  


The love you call your disciples to imitate is not always  warm & fuzzy love.  It's self-sacrificial and demanding. In this humble service, you loved your disciples in a peculiar and particular way that provoked consternation, questions, and thought.    You even asked them, "Do you know what I have done to you?"  In other words, 'Why do you think the Son of God would perform this lowly task?'   Maybe your act seemed reckless or foolish... prodigal even...  Certainly it was baffling, and the disciples gave no answer at the time. 


I think I know what you did to them.  You gave an example of loving and serving with grace and without pride.  The disciples didn't deserve your service.  You loved them despite their lowly position, despite their impending betrayals and denials.  You loved them fully, no holding back.  You love me fully, no reservations; not because I deserve it, but because of your astonishing grace.


Lord Jesus, empower me to love and serve others profoundly, not looking to reward those who deserve it; but rather seeking to imitate and be a conduit of your love and grace so that others would know You.