A few years ago when we were cleaning out my Daddy‘s house, I ran across this ceramic piece that was given to him and it took me to a very special place....
In John 13, Jesus was seated at a table with 12 sinners. Two of which — Peter and Judas — would openly betray Him very soon. But the Scripture says He got up from his seat "Knowing where He came from and where He was going to" and washed their feet.
Every time I think about this it blows my mind. Especially today though...
Originally, I wrote an excited blog about the forgiveness of Jesus, but right now when I consider the fact that Jesus is the exact expression of the nature of God (Hebrews 1), I don't just feel excited...I am healed.
You see...I’ve gone through many seasons of dealing with my past. I know that I am no longer condemned because of Jesus. There are, however, consequences that accompany a life like I once lived, and I’ve been weaving in and out of one of the fear of those consequences for almost two years now.
An even larger HOWEVER than that fear, though, is what happens to me every time I fight my unbelief by looking at the truth of God through Jesus Christ. Every time that I require myself to allow Jesus to wash my feet, it is all well with my soul.
Pastor and author John Piper spoke about how the war against self and unbelief must be fought...
“Wage war by turning your mind and heart toward the promises of God, the surety of the cross, the love of the Father, and the wealth of your inheritance in Christ, the blessings of the Lord, and the patience of Jesus. Hold them there in front of your mind where you can see them while you cry out for blood-bought help. Consciously and intentionally — not passively — beat down the anger, self-pity, sullenness, and blaming that is out of character with Jesus in you. Keep beating until they are effectively dead.” John Piper
IS IT well with your soul that JESUS loves you no matter what you’ve done?!
IS IT well with your soul that JESUS also loves you enough not to leave you there, though?!
IS IT well with your soul that JESUS is not just waiting on you to get it right?!
Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, weeping with you in intercession, and advocating to the Father on your behalf. Father God is instructing the Holy Spirit on how to lead and guide your heart back to THEM.
IS IT well with your soul that you must fight your personal desires and unbelief?
IS IT well with your soul that you can’t do this by yourself…that you never could?!
IS IT well with your soul that you need Him? That you need the Triune God to draw you up out of the pit in order to wash your feet and make you whole in Him?
IS IT well with your soul that you must continuously place that truth in front of your face in order to overcome any shame or hardship?
Take a minute today to sit and read John 13 and consider this…
Jesus has lived as more than an example of forgiveness. He IS forgiveness, and we must learn how to share it; however, first we must accept it for ourselves. If you want to be free and live for the cause of Christ, sit in His presence and let HIM wash YOUR feet!
“Before the Passover Festival, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. Jesus knew that the Father had given everything into his hands, that he had come from God, and that he was going back to God. Next, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet” John 13:1,3,5
"Long ago God spoke to our ancestors by the prophets at different times and in different ways. In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things and made the universe through him. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." Hebrews 1:1-3
“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God. This is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed. But anyone who lives by the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be shown to be accomplished by God.” John 3:14-21
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