I decided to do something new this year as we enter the week leading up to Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Because one of the greatest gifts that happened on Calvary was the gift of grace, I’m going to take each day this week and focus on that. I thought it would be good to remind myself of that amazing grace every single day. If you’d like, feel free to follow along throughout this week.
Let me start off todays thoughts on grace with a couple of ground rules. First of all, I have issues with forgiveness which I’ll unpack in a minute. Second, I have issues with feet. I can’t stand bare feet on the dashboard of my car. I don’t like touching feet or feet touching me. I can’t explain it, it’s just one of those things. Forgiveness and feet are two of the many things I have issues with. When it comes to forgiveness, I used to adopt the motto of the great philosophers…The Dixie Chicks…
“Forgive sounds good. Forget, I don’t think I could…”
I’m just being honest here. I know we’re supposed to forgive and I really do wrestle with situations where I should. I’m working on it and Gods not done with me yet. If you really want to see me get nasty, do something to my family. I can usually get through personal situations which require forgiveness, but you mess with my family and the protector in me comes out. Especially if it has anything to do with feet….(sorry, had to throw that in there).
Now here’s where I get all kinds of tripped up with grace. In John 13:1-17 we see Jesus do the unthinkable (in my mind anyway). He is just days away from dying for the entire world (you and I included). He’s with his closest friends. He is with the very men that will soon scatter. They won’t have his back. One will betray him outright. Another will deny he even knew him. Talk about having forgiveness issues. If I knew the people I had let into my world at the deepest levels would soon walk away, betray me and deny they even knew me, do you think I would want to share a meal with them? Would you?
As if the meal wasn’t enough, he goes far beyond the call of duty. He takes the role of a servant and washes their feet. For more on the significance of Jesus washing their feet, there’s an entire Wikipedia page dedicated to it HERE. Regardless of what Wikipedia might have to say, I know this, Jesus placed himself in a servant role before the very people that he had every right to distance himself from. He had every reason to sing that Dixie Chicks song. You want to talk about Grace? It was on full display in that room.
As he washed the feet of friends that would bail on him.
As he washed the feet of the man that would betray him.
As he washed the feet of the man that would completely deny knowing him.
And he knew it would all happen.
Grace.
When I think about this act of grace and the one which would soon follow, I am ashamed of my inability to forgive. I am saddened by my lack of grace in situations. Should I wash the feet of those I may have issues with? No, I don’t think so. Yet an email saying “I’m sorry” or “I forgive you” might be a modern day version of that. A phone call, even if I still believe I was the wronged, may be like filling that basin and kneeling before my enemy. When I am quick to say “but,” I remember that Jesus didn’t complain as he was placed on my cross for my sin. This is a critical point that cannot be missed – Have you allowed Jesus to wash your feet? Have you accepted that grace? Maybe today is that day. Maybe this week is a week to finally accept the grace that happened on that Friday.
“…And we will never be able to wash the feet of those who have hurt us until we allow Jesus, the one we have hurt, to wash ours.” – Max Lucado
Who do you need to call/text/email today? Who’s feet do you need to wash?
Grace.
