It's Your Serve

In Christ's day, the roads throughout Palestine were dry and dusty. When the rains came, they turned into seas of mud. As travelers walked along these roads, their feet and sandals became very dirty. Each homeowner would put a basin of cool water near the door of his house. As the guests arrived, servants would wash their hot, dusty feet.

As the disciples assembled, there was probably some question as to who should take on the role of servant and wash the others' feet. No one was willing to stoop to that level. Then Jesus took off his outer garment and wrapped a towel around his waist. Picking up the basin of water, he proceeded to bathe the tired feet of his friends.

They were shocked at his actions! Why was the Messiah, their Lord and Master, assuming the responsibilities of a servant? Jesus was teaching them that true greatness begins with servanthood. When Peter began to understand, he said, "Christ, not just my feet, but wash my whole self."

Serving others is so uncommon in our day. We watch basketball players toss their warm-ups on the floor and a “servant” folds them and prepares them to be used again. Politicians are catered to on every corner. Professional businessmen use expense accounts to live luxurious lives. The competition to impress others seems to be building on every side. And in the middle of this competitive war, Christ asks us to "wash each others' feet."

When was the last time we took time to serve someone in our family? I believe that servanthood in the home begins with the father. I ask myself continually if I am an example of servanthood. Do my children see me helping my wife and putting her first before my own needs? Are they learning from me what it means to serve others? If not, then I need to discover the joy of serving in my home. What a difference having the heart of a servant can make!

The question is what will you do to carry this spirit of servanthood into your home? The way to answer that is to simply think about how you might serve the other members of your family. List our their names and write down specific things you could do that would show a servanthood nature to each individual. It might be important for you to think outside the boundaries of your own home and think of other servanthood possibilities as a family to your neighborhood. By exhibiting this type of behavior, we follow the example of Christ and teach our children some of the basics of knowing what it is to be a Christian.