Don't Forget To Wash Your Feet!
When Peter objected to Jesus washing his feet, Jesus said,
“If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.”
And Peter said, “Oh Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.”
In other words, “Then wash me all over!” And Jesus said, “He that is
bathed needeth only to rinse his feet, but is entirely clean.” (John 13:10)
And in those words, He gives us a beautiful explanation of the process
of salvation. It begins with a bath. That initial coming to Christ, allowing
Him to cleanse us - wash us all over, completely, from head to foot.
Jesus, of course, is alluding to a very common social practice in those days.
It was the custom to take a bath before you went out to a meal. But in walking
through the dusty streets of the city with sandals on, your feet would be defiled.
So when you arrived as a guest, a servant would wash your feet, but you
would not need to take another bath. And upon arriving back home, you would
not need to take another bath, but would merely need to rinse your feet.
And so it is with the Christian. When we first come to Jesus, we are
bathed - we are cleaned all over. The Bible calls this "Justification
by Faith." It's a washing away of all the guilt and sin in our life.
We've already been bathed, but we still must trod down a dirty road within this
world, coming into contact with sin. We need to rinse our feet. That means we must
confess our sin and imperfections to God, asking the forgiveness of a loving Father.
Jesus knows our feet will be defiled during our walk through this life, and that needs
to be washed away. He teaches us that not only do we need that initial cleansing, but
we also need the experience of forgiveness - of coming to Christ for the cleansing
away of the defilement of our walk. This determines that we have a part with Him.
The enjoyment of our relationship with Christ is lost when we are temporarily defiled
by wrongdoing in our life. We lose the enjoyment of our relationship with Him.
His attitude toward us doesn't change, but our attitude toward Him does. That is why
we are taught all through the Scriptures to confess our sins. And the moment we do
so, that original cleansing is renewed to us, and we go on again, restored. (1 John 1:9)
It's sad that Peter's error is being repeated today. There are those who
refuse to have Jesus wash their feet. They are rejecting the indispensable
requisite for enjoying their relationship with Christ. When Christians refuse
to let Jesus wash their feet, they lose that sense of partnership with Him.
Thank You, Father, that You have washed away all my sin and guilt, and
I now stand righteous in Your sight. Teach me to come to You each and every
day, confessing my sin, allowing You to restore me to that close fellowship
with You for which I was made. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.
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