Serving the Faith-Family

This Sunday, we will open God's Word, the Bible, and look at John 13:31-35, among other verses.  In these verses, Jesus commands his followers to love one another as he has loved us.  That's a tall order, impossible without Christ in fact. The second week of our series is specifically focused on Serving the Faith Family as a way to love and learn to love others as Christ has loved us.   

As we hear the instruction to love others as Jesus loves us, we should start thinking of where we've seen Jesus show his love to others.  And as we want to learn to love through serving the Faith Family, we should zero our survey on those passages where we see Jesus serving others out of his love for them.  Of course, all the passages of what he did on the cross prove his overwhelming love for us, but we're not going to love and serve others like that.  We can't because we're not the creator or the savior of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  But there is a passage where we see Jesus service and love that we can emulate.   

In John 13:1-16 Jesus gives us a picture of how to love and serve others.  He even said, "For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done for you" (John 13:15).  What did Jesus do in John 13 just before he said these words?  He washed the disciple's feet.  That's right, Jesus served his friends.  

(Here's a story from the Jesus Storybook Bible on Jesus, the Servant King.  Enjoy!) 

Before you ask if we'll be physically washing feet on Sudany, the answer is no.  Washing feet is a little different these days.  In our day, the timeless principle of this passage looks more picking up the dishes after the party or cleaning up after others.  More specifically, it's like scrubbing the toilets and cleaning the bathroom.   

Have you ever been in a really gross bathroom?  Might it have looked like a couple hundred careless people used it?  Every part of the bathroom was messy or wet, soup and water were all over the counter, paper all over the floor, and the trash brimming over.  There was that putrid smell.  Yeah, you know the one I'm talking about.  The Servant Lord, Jesus would stop and clean that bathroom up for others, even if it weren't his job.  You and I might, if we had time, tell the management.  But do we ever consider serving the next person to need that bathroom?  That's serving and loving like Jesus.  

How about at the church building?  If you see water spilled on the bathroom counter, or the toilet paper is out, or the trash needs to be emptied, do you consider serving your brothers and sisters who will use the bathroom after you?  What a window into our heart for serving out of love as Christ serves and loves us.

After Jesus told his disciples to follow his example and serve one another as he did in John 13:15 he gave this gem of instruction.  He said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a master greater than the one who sent him.  If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them" (John 13:16-17).  Now you know, so enter into the blessing of Christ and serve others as he has served you.  

We'll see you Sunday, if not before. For the Kingdom!
Pastor Bryan