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My good friend set up an entire canoeing trip with many of his friends as well as myself. It was an exciting opportunity to get to hang out. I saw it as a perfect time to impart something spiritual onto those I was meeting for the first time. I had a plan. A good plan. A righteous plan. I looked into the life and choices of Christ and picked one of the strongest decisions he made. I did this in order to slam dunk some Godly wisdom into others. It was going to be awesome.
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Jesus,
knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had
come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside
his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he
poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe
them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who
said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing
you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” Peter said to
him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you,
you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only
but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does
not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And
you are clean, but not every one of you.” For he knew who was to betray
him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.
-John 13:4-14 (ESV)
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I traveled with my friend and his brother in the car ride to our destination. It was a crazy experience to travel through a town called Flippin at two in the morning. The jokes came out in spades. We got to the campsite, set up tents and went to sleep. The trip, while crazy already, was proving to be great fun.
I had a zip lock bag with the items I planned on using to wash everyone's feet. Some soaps and washcloths. I packed it before we left, but I was the only one who knew it's true purpose.
The next day when we decided to finally head out to the river I rode with a fairly newly married couple I had never met before. It would be nice to break the ice and get them to know me a bit before I washed their feet somewhere down a river later. I never had the chance. Instead of me breaking this ice... they did. I was asked an interesting question. "What is your spiritual gift?" It caught me off guard. I did not look into the world as a Christian as in some way needing a particular gift. I also could not define myself as one very thing. It was troubling to me to think of only one gift was the thing I would be and do for my God for all time. This did not hold them back from explaining to me the gifts they each believed they had. I could only tell them of what I have done in my past. I was shocked to find none of it mattered to me. None of what would be considered "accomplishments" set within me an idea of me being a holder of some special gift I was imparting into the world. This made me wonder why it would be so important to them to claim their gifts.
This revelation never grew to anything much more than that at this time. We got our canoes and entered the water. We had a pretty awesome trip and made some fond memories, but I never washed anyone's feet. I wish I could say it was because I felt it was unnecessary. Or I could say water got into the zip-lock bag I had the tools for washing in. Or there was just no time for it to happen.
When
I think back on it, the only reason I can come up with is I did not feel I was
good enough.
Is it not odd I could feel this way.
How
can a person not be good enough to wash another's feet? It is often portrayed
as being one of the lowest of jobs. One fit for a slave. How could I have felt
lower than that? My perspective laid heavily on Christ. I could see how He did
this for His disciples and showed them truth in servant hood. I
could not see myself being what Jesus was to those who He walked with on this
earth.
There
was no way I could be "that guy" to these people.
These
guys were able to definitively set themselves into a
particular spiritual gift and I couldn't not do that.
How
could I be someone who could teach them anything?
How
could I inspire or encourage them?
With these thoughts I was "talked" out of it. Who knows... this very act could have instilled a spiritual sight into us we never would have had without it. Or.. it could have turned us against one another in an all out superhero brawl which would end in tears.
I
don't know what the outcome would have been, but I am now certain I lost a
chance to reach out. It should never matter how much greater someone around you
seems. It should never matter how lowly you may think of yourself, you can
always be a servant to others. You can always lovingly guide and teach others.
Don't make the same mistake I did. Wash the feet of another when you have the
chance to do so!
Have you ever not done something you felt led to do?
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