Today as I ponder upon Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday, I came across John 13:2-17 where Jesus washed the feet of His disciples and said to them “Do you understand what I have done for you? You call me Teacher and Lord and rightly so for that is what I am. Now that I have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet”.
A few years ago, my bible study group gathered for Maundy Thursday and re-enacted this part of washing feet by Jesus. I think it was either Wendy or Cheng Yi that played the role of Jesus and we were trying not to be tickled with all that washing of feet and try to be somber and understand what Jesus did. I don’t think I really understood the meaning then and tonight I pondered again.
If Jesus could humble himself as a leader to wash another’s feet and later even to the point He laid His life for us, we too should humble ourselves and forgive others when we are wronged rather than be self-righteous and take revenge or to plot against another. It was Hamir led by the holy spirit that opened my eyes to see that our church was too inward looking. Even I myself was trying to figure out who was right and who was wrong. When we studied Galatians 2:11, Paul opposed Peter to his face when Peter was clearly in the wrong. But we can’t really apply it to our church drama because both sides think they are right. Today’s daily bread (http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/our-daily-bread/2010/04/01/devotion.aspx) was about Jesus who kept silent before the Sanhendrin and answered nothing as it would be useless. I sighed as I read this. How do we apply this in our church? Everyone has their own journey. It is for everyone to come before our Lord and say what is truly in our hearts and the holy spirit will work within us. But when we start thinking for others what this person thinks or what that person thinks then I get confused myself because each of them think themselves right. But in front of a Holy God, you have NO EXCUSES. It's all useless. He knows our inner thoughts. He knows us inside out. All the things you said, you know yourself, the motives you had. We can't think for others. So I sighed and for that we can only pray for our pastors, for those affected, for it is not only praying for them but to bind and break the devil behind them putting negative thoughts into their minds against God's word.
What does His word say? I moved on to John 15:11-16 “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends….go and bear fruit- fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other.”
Then it struck me for those in pain from being wronged, God loves them so much and He tells them that they can have complete joy in Him by taking that first step of faith - to love each other. And then, He will give you whatever you ask in His name that would take that pain away. There is nothing that cannot be ironed out once we love another and He is asking us to take that first step of faith. When I read His promise in John 15:16 “Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name”, it just melt my heart, for this is Jesus’ love for us.
I pray for all those affected tonight that your hearts will open to see God’s love for you tonight. He does not want to see you in pain and He wants us to take that first step – to love each other. It is a choice we make. And then all His blessings will flow just as He says in John 15:16 because then we would have won victory over satan who has been injecting negative thoughts into us. I also pray for those felt led by the holy spirit to help you in the reconciliation process. I pray that the Holy Spirit will put the right words in their mouth that would just break the yoke over you. I pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.
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