Only Our Feet

Read John 13:1-17

In Bible times the streets and roads were dusty and dirty.  It was common for people to pick up dirt and mud on their feet and so, when they came inside a house they had to take off their sandals and wash their feet.  Well-to-do households would have a servant wash the feet of the guests.  In this passage of scripture we find Jesus taking the role of a servant and washing His disciples' feet.  Peter took offense and said, "No, you will never wash my feet!"  Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."  then Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and head as well!"  Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean."

True followers of Christ have been washed in the blood of Christ.  They are clean.  We are righteous in Jesus Christ.  But we pick up stuff every day that cakes dirt on us that must be washed off.  We go out into the world, whether to work, school,  marketplace,sports, movies, tv, or just general talk with people we see.  We hear words and see situations that are un-Christ-like.   We see and hear behavior that can damage us and later our testimony.  We are still clean--we are saved by Christ's blood.  We need our feet washed metaphorically so we can be clean, to feel clean, and to be a good witness for our Lord.  For, out in the world, we hear and see things that, if left on our heart are going to make us ineffective.    In those situations we have a need to allow Jesus to wash our feet.

The Bible says that we can be holy and pure when washed by the water of the word.(Eph. 5:26)  The daily reading of scripture along with meditating on it can wash us clean of the filth we pick up as we go through the dusty and muddy road of life.  We are clean, but not all of us.   As we read His word, Jesus will wash away all those thoughts and attitudes that try to drag us down and damage our christian walk.  "Thy word I have hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee."