one body, even feet.
“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body — Jews or Greeks, slaves or free — and all were made to drink of one Spirit.”
— 1 Corinthians 12:12–13 ESV
i’ve been in ministry for a while now.
my parents were pastors.
on saturday nights my mother would take my sister and i to the church and we would clean the entire place in preparation for sunday.
vacuum the floors, scrub the toilets, wipe down the windows.
each sunday i’d arrive early with my father and i’d sweep the leafs from the sidewalk and set the thermostats while he put the finishing touches on his sermon.
after church, i’d change the letters on the church sign to whatever this week’s provoking thought i wanted the passerby to read.
as i got older, my roles changed but the jobs still had to be done.
i’d arrive on saturdays but now to mow the lawn and trim the trees.
i trained a few younger teens on how to change the letters on the sign.
and on sundays it wasn’t always my dad finishing up his sermon early in the morning, every so often, it was my turn to preach.
no matter what your current role is in the body of christ, all roles are necessary for the body to function.
like the importance of your big toe,
every part is required for balance.
i’ve held many many different roles over the years.
i used to think some parts were greater than others.
that somehow i could “level up” in servanthood to one day reach the pinnacle.
and although there is something to say of the level of responsibility certain positions in ministry might have above others,
what i’ve learned is,
no part is “greater” than another.
no one part is “better” than the other.
they are all just as important in the eyes of God.
they all are necessary.
today i’m not going to spend time dissecting the theology and significance of the weight in different parts of ministry.
you can open up the Word and define that for yourself.
today, all i bring is encouragement.
i used to take out the trash.
change diapers.
mow the lawn.
paint the walls.
collect the money.
hold the door.
sing the special.
preach.
pray with a student struggling with addiction.
warm up the food.
pull the weeds.
i thought all of it one day would free me from lower level of service.
there’s no such thing.
i’m still taking out the trash.
ministry is servant leadership.
even Jesus, the savior of the world, came to serve.
i preached a collection once called “the night before” and it centered around the things that happened the night before the crucifixion.
a lot happened that night, including one of the most astounding things Jesus ever did.
one of the talks i gave was called “bottom of the basin” (living for alliteration as a 26 year old)
it discussed Jesus washing the disciples feet.
i had never understood the significance of servanthood until i dissected this story.
Jesus, the creator, the author, God
lowers himself to the level of servant and washes His disciples feet the night before He is to die on a cross for all mankind.
i’m not sure what i’d do with my last night on earth, but i don’t think it would be washing people’s feet.
Jesus does this anyway, and He gives us a picture of who we are all called to be.
if you’re too big to serve, you’re too small to lead.
Jesus wasn’t indeed too big to serve.
in fact, if you dive deeper into the last supper in John 13, you’ll find the same story being told in Luke 22 and the funniest thing happens.
Jesus tell them in Luke 22:21, the one who is to betray Him is sitting at the table.
so the disciples become frantic and begin calling out their own greatness.
“A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.”
— Luke 22:24 ESV
like…what??
you’re sitting at the table with the Messiah. the King.
and you have the audacity to talk about how great YOU are?
so Jesus drops some knowledge
“For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.”
— Luke 22:27 ESV
and then he does what none of them wanted to do,
He gets up, strips down His clothes, wraps a towel around his waist…
and one by one, He washes their feet.
woe is me.
i had a family friend coming over for dinner once.
i ended up being late and so by the time i got home, dinner was done and everyone was just sitting around the table talking.
as soon as i walked in the door, our guest got up from the table, greeted me and gave me his seat.
he asked me what i wanted to drink and gave it to me.
he grabbed a plate and loaded it up with food and brought it to me.
when i needed seconds, he brought them to me.
whatever i needed, he served me hand and foot.
a man almost 20 years older than me, serving me in my own house.
i felt honored. respected. and to be honest, a little like peter claiming that i was unworthy of this blessing.
honoring others says more about you than it does to who you’re honoring.
we honor others because we are honorable.
we serve others because we’ve been saved by grace.
my pastor has this amazing phrase and i’m adopting it in my life to keep me humble.
“no one owes me anything, jesus gave me everything.”
let me never forget the heart of my savior.
let me never forget what true leadership looks like.
let me never forget the importance of every single part of the body, even feet.
everyone has a role.
some days you’re washing the feet of your brother, other days, he’s washing yours.
both are important.
let’s not forget, we are better together.
the body needs all its parts to work in harmony.
we need each other.
it’s not for ourselves, it’s for Christ’s glory that we serve.
and we’re just getting started.
-gb
(i got some film back, so sorry for the pictures of random people, but i love them and they aren’t random to me)
