JOHN 13:14-17

Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

TO PONDER:

'Never ask anyone to do something that you are not prepared to do yourself.' It's a word of wisdom that my dad shared with my as a teenager that I have never forgotten! I often accompanied him as he would go to an elderly couple's place to fix up something they couldn't do themselves. I painted alongside of him on weekends as we prepared the second hand transportable classrooms that would become the first classrooms of our new Lutheran School. I pulled down a tennis court fence on a 40 degree day along with my dad and two others, because the school couldn't afford to pay for a new one around its court. But it wasn't just my dad. I had other role models who showed me the same thing. A willingness to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty to help others, to serve others, to improve the life of others. Through these role models, I witnessed a joy in their giving, a humbleness in their serving, a love that was motivated by the surety of their identity in Jesus. I learnt that serving is not always convenient, that it can sometimes take up a day that you have planned to do something else. I learnt that it can be costly and can also be taken advantage of by others. But I also learnt what it meant to do as I have done for you. I am so thankful for those who shaped and formed me in my walk with Jesus, who taught me to serve, and my prayer is that my willingness to do likewise is shaping the next generation.

What about you? How is your serving an example and inspiration for others? Who can you ask to join you so that together you experience the blessing of serving others with the love of Jesus that you have received? Go with joy, to serve the Lord today.

PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, you have never asked us to do what you were not prepared to do yourself. Grow in me your heart that I may serve as your have served me. Amen.