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by Steve Risner

Are you a foot washer?

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” James further drives this point home in the following verses, making sure we understand that the Word is of little use to us if we don’t actually apply it to our lives. Other translations say, “Be doers of the Word.”

A question I’ll pose today is: are you a doer of the Word? Or do you get your ears tickled on Sunday, agreeing with every word the pastor speaks, knowing God has revealed something to you that He wants you to either do or forsake doing and you then go home, not having changed a thing? That could be a point all by itself; in fact, I’ll leave that there for you to ponder for a moment. What has God been saying to you either in your prayer time, Bible reading time, or listening to your favorite pastor or discussing life’s challenges from a Biblical perspective with a friend that you’ve thought to yourself, “Boy, I really do need to ________. That was a great word.” But then you’ve walked away exactly the same as you were before you heard it? Move!

So, my reason for this intro is to apply it to something Jesus did and further commanded us to do along with His apostles. In the Gospels of Matthew and John, we see an event that I’m sure the Disciples had a hard time figuring out at first. In John 13, we find the following:

“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… 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. Very truly I tell you, 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.’”

I’ll first point out that, again, Jesus tells us we need to be a DOERS of His Word. I’ll repeat what He said, “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” Be a doer and not just a hearer.

Jesus served. A great way to serve the Lord is by serving others. The Word is replete with examples of commands and illustrations of how we are to serve others. In fact, James says that taking care of widows and orphans (serving them) is pleasing religion to the Father. So, my real question—the whole point of this blog post—is who are you serving? Let us take a closer look at some of the examples in the Bible of this other than Jesus washing the feet of His disciples:

1 Peter 4:10 says, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another.” But he further states in verse 11, "Let him who serves serve in the strength which God supplies so that in everything God will get the glory." It’s for the glory of God that we serve. The whole point is to point people to Christ.

Galatians 5:13b-14 says, “Serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” In loving your neighbor, you will certainly find opportunity to serve them. Service is an act of love.

Matthew 20:28 tells us Jesus came to serve and not be served. This goes along with His statement that it is more blessed to give than to receive. It’s better to serve than be served, although it takes both for the action to work, right? Are you looking for opportunities to serve those around you (whether you know them or not)?

In Mark 9:35 Jesus says, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” A servant is humble, and this is a hard thing to be, especially in today’s America. But humility is critical to having the heart of Christ.

Jesus and James seem to be in agreement with each other on being doers of the Word. Jesus says, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” James says, “What good is it… if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” It sounds like they’re both saying, “Be doers of the Word and not hearers only.”

John says, in 1 John 3:18, “Let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” John writes this right after asking the question, “If anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” Let’s be about the business of meeting needs. Let’s be the Church we were called to be—one that serves rather than criticizes or judges in pride.

Paul tells us in Philippians, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interests of others.” This, again, goes along with humility and thinking of others AND doing something to meet their needs.

Paul further says in 1 Corinthians that in serving all, his goal is to win some to Christ. Here we see that service’s end goal is for Christ to receive glory and for Him to receive another person’s heart. He emphasizes this in 2 Corinthians by saying that “we ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.”

I’ve gone a little long this week, but I want to encourage us all, myself included, to seek opportunities to serve. We should serve those that are part of the family of God because we’re directed to but also those who are outside the faith so we might win them to the Lord.

Who are you serving? Are you pouring yourself into someone? Are you finding opportunities regularly to serve others, considering their interests and needs? Whose feet are you washing? Service can be a one-time thing with someone, or it could be something you do for someone for a season. Wash their feet and share His love.

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