Clean

Who doesn’t like being barefoot in the sand?  There are a few people out there happy to wear shoes on the beach but most of us see sand as an opportunity to lose the “kicks.”  As far back as I can remember I have always preferred to be barefoot.  When we were kids my mom even used to joke that, “Feet heal, shoes don’t.”  

If you are barefoot, your feet will get dirty.  Wearing socks and shoes may keep the dirt out, but your feet will still need to be cleaned when you take them off.  It’s safe to say that, barefoot or not, all feet need to be cleaned regularly.

We have a written account of Peter’s reaction when Jesus washed his feet (John 13:6-10).  Can you imagine what the other disciples were thinking?  Someone had to be concerned about how dirty their feet were, or how bad they may have smelled.  I bet you some even wished they’d had a heads up so they could have done a little “pre-cleaning” before they put their feet in Jesus’ face.  

All of their possible concerns were valid and if we were in the same situation today we would likely have similar thoughts.  Jesus wasn’t worried about any of that mess though.  God had a bigger picture in mind.

‘Jesus replied, “ You don’t understand what I’m doing now, but you will understand later. ” ‘  John 13:7

What areas of life are you unwilling to have cleaned? Perhaps it’s just too messy. Maybe you just want to do a little work yourself before you approach Jesus. Remember that God has a broader perspective from which those concerns you have are small. Jesus is welcoming all of us into His personal space and in that space we will be cleaned.

Wave your white flag.

Approaching the Gospel is a moment of surrender. Whatever state of messiness you are in, whatever possible walls you see between you and God, let them go. Let your dirty feet be washed and you will witness the Good News unfold before you!