More Than Humble

This is a familiar passage but it is about much more than you might think.

People humbling themselves as missionaries or to serve others or to work un-rewarded are wonderful things, but here Christ is more than that. Our humility is not in the same class at all with His holy humility.

This was not only about submission and service, but also about surrender. You can humbly serve the whole body and specially as you encounter them, but washing feet as seen by Jesus here is about getting dirty, and removing the dirt from the worn and weary feet of those you are in the trenches with. That isn’t everybody; that is about your local set of people whom you get muddy with on a regular basis, as Jesus did with His disciples. You give yourself to a group of people and those people are whose feet you wash.

A proof of this is found in 1 Timothy 5:9-10. The true widow, who Paul described in detail, and who had humbled herself and served the local congregation of saints, was to be considered for being on the church’s benevolence list or given some kind of support as she supported those in the church. This shows us the application of the “washing of feet” means to a local fellowship, not just a general principle only. Although we are to be humble to all and serve all, this is not just about humility and service in general, but in specific terms to specific people sets.

If you think that you are some super saint and that you don’t have to be a vital part of a local church, if you haven’t surrendered your role as the final arbiter in your life, your discipleship is all dried up. You’ve thrown in the towel against the church instead of girding yourself with it.