Lately I keep stumbling upon those phrases, you know the ones that sink to the depths inside of you. They creep into your mind, penetrate into your spirit and lodge themselves deep into your heart. They ramble over and over until you can almost chew on them physically, mulling and thinking trying to figure out why they are affecting you.....
The latest one was from Beth Moore: Jesus, 90 Days with the One and Only.
"Jesus Christ walked the way of humanity so that humanity could walk the way of God." (Day 90)
I still can not quite grasp why it is affecting me the way it is but I have a few guesses.
The fact that God Himself would come to earth to walk the path of man is a concept that is fairly mind blowing in and of itself.
Walking - one step in front of the other. Determined, going forward (or backward) towards a place, a direction or a goal. Walking requires feet. Feet are our "stability" for our bodies, they carry our frame, they balance us. Feet also get dirty and stinky. Jesus not only walked with humanity He used them in His example of washing each others feet, those same dirty, stinky feet. Jesus was not above the dirty, stinky chore of foot washing. I know we do not do the custom of feet washing today and so it has not got a place in our lives that we can even relate to.
In Jesus day - sandals were worn all the time, and usually it was the same pair of sandals and your feet got very dirty, caked with sand, mud, or even dung and whatever else your sandals found to tread in that day. When you came to a home, the owner would either put water out so that you might wash your feet and be refreshed and clean or provide a slave/servant who would wash your feet for you to refresh you.
Jesus did both, He chose to walk with us and came down from heaven to walk amongst men. He chose to walk as an example to mankind and then He used feet, our tools for walking, as an object lesson in how to be be humble, and to serve others, by washing the feet of others.
I remember the time I was asked to "wash" someone - an adult. I really did not want to and balked at the thought but at that moment there was no one else there who could help this person, so out of sheer necessity, I did it.
Afterwards I thought about it and thought how good it was that I "helped" out and you know I became fairly puffed up and proud at my "good deed". I was talking to God about it and He quickly deflated my ego. He told me that basically we all "stink" before Him all our good deeds are useless. My good deed was nothing to Him. He and only He had done the only "washing" that ever needed to be done: He died for all mankind, His blood washing away the sins of the world.
And again we read, "Jesus Christ walked the way of humanity so that humanity could walk the way of God."
You see in my "walk of life" I indeed had washed another person, but I did not do it because I wanted to honor another human, or even wanted to be there or refresh someone else. I did it because I had to.
Jesus lowered Himself down to the status of "servant" and willingly, lovingly, washed the stinky, dirty feet of His disciples - honoring each of them by His service to them.
We both walked. We both washed others. Only one of us had the correct heart for the walk.
Jesus Walked the way of Humanity.... so that Humanity could walk the way of God" - Lord may we be mindful of the way we walk, let us not be imitators, just going through the motions, but rather but like the true example of you - considering others better than ourselves.......