Meeting Needs

Today I learned about washing feet. It doesn't just mean getting someone's feet clean. That's just the surface-level meaning of the ritual. Jesus washed his disciples' feet in order to serve them. That's what it's really all about. Washing feet means finding a need, and meeting that need. I listened to Joyce Meyer's radio broadcast again tonight and her words really blessed me. She talked about how humbling it is to do things for others. That means doing things without expecting anything in return. Just selfless giving. Joyce makes an interesting point...she says, "Even if we're willing to do stuff for other people, we're much more likely to do stuff for people we like and know...because after all, they'll probably tell us how wonderful we are. When it comes to doing something for someone that you don't know....don't have any natural interest in other than that God loves them...there's a different story." Why is it so much easier to do things for people we already know? What are we afraid of? What am I afraid of? Rejection? Weird looks? Not getting anything in return? I don't know. But something sure is keeping me back, I think. Otherwise I'd be doing things for other people left and right.

Here's a question Joyce says to ask ourselves: "Do I see helping others as a divine opportunity from God or as an unwanted interruption in my plan?" Hmmm...when it's put that way, I guess I don't always see serving others as "divine opportunities". I mean, sometimes I do...like when I was in Detroit for spring break. But most of the time when I think about serving someone I think "Ughh...I just don't have time to stop and talk to that person" or "I'll do it tomorrow." That's not exactly a very good approach to the situation. When God calls us to help someone or serve one of our brothers or sisters in any way, we need to step up and do it. Here's the thing: God will take care of us and all of our needs when we take care of others. That's all there is to it.

God, thank You for giving me opportunities to serve my brothers and sisters, but I apologize for the times when I haven't been willing to carry out that call in serving them. Please continue to place people in my path that You want me to reach out to...and show me the boldness and courage that it takes to serve them as You would. Amen.