Go ahead...dip!

John 13:3-17, "Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, 'Lord, are you going to wash my feet?' Jesus replied, 'you do not realize now what i am doing, but later you will understand.' 'No,' said Peter, 'you shall never wash my feet.' Jesus answered, 'Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.' Have you ever gotten a present that was wrapped in a tiny little box, and then when you opened it, you saw how big the present was. You might have thought to yourself, "Oh that's nothing," but it turned out to be something bigger than you ever could have imagined. It's not the size of the gift, but it's what the gift represents that matters most. This is what the "washing of the feet" represents. A small gesture, that is something much bigger when you look more closely at it. Inside the tiny little box was... a huge lesson in humility. Humility: Humility is one of those words, associated with Jesus, that I think gets a bad wrap. If we call ourselves "Christ" followers, then we should do as Christ did. Most people think that to be humble, means to be poor and powerless. The idea of being humble is so much more than that. To be humble like Christ is an honor. Jesus washed the feet of the disciples to show them the way we should humble ourselves to others. It doesn't make you less than them, it actually makes you better. To be humble is to be selfless. To be humble is to lower yourself under God's obedience and instruction...to dip. Jesus dipped the feet of his disiciples in the water, not to show that he was better than them, but to show that they were worthy of receiving what he had to give them. It represented the selfless act of the cross. He was showing the disciples and all of us that our acts of "humility" should be shared with those in our lives. It is a gift to those around us. To wash someone's feet, you must stoop down and look up to them. Do we not all look up to God? Is that a bad thing? No, it is what we were created to do, to look up towards our father to give Him glory and honor. Can you imagine how the disciples must have felt when the Son of God was looking up to them as he washed their feet? What an amazing act of selflessness! My heart can't even fathom that feeling of Jesus lowering himself to wash my feet. If we are not humble in our lives, then we have "no part" of Jesus. Jesus was and is the ultimate gift of humilty. Our gift to Him and to others is to "wash one another's feet" represented by acts of respect, kindness, love, forgiveness, selflessness, and devotion. Doesn't it feel good when you "dip" yourself under the shower? The cleansing power of the water jets, streaming down, washing away the old, so that you can feel fresh. Think of being humble as just that, a way of "dipping" yourself under the cleansing water of obedience to Jesus. It will leave your spirit new and fresh, full of spiritual exhileration! Go ahead...dip! John 13;12-17, "When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. 'Do you understand what i have done for you?' he asked them. 'you call me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, for that is what I am. 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. I tell you the truth, 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."