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When
the world tells you that you are nothing,
it’s liberating to know that there is
Someone who thinks differently.
There was once a woman who was worshipping
God in the midst of a church service. Like
many worshippers who go to church on Sunday
and talk to God, she did not really expect
him to talk back.
But God did speak to her, telling her to go
and lie down at the back of the room. Feeling
a little silly, yet not wanting to disobey
the voice of the Lord, the woman walked to
the back of the room and lay down. There she
was given the name of a woman she knew was
sitting up near the front of the church building.
God then instructed her to go to the kitchen,
get a washcloth and a basin full of water,
and wash that woman’s feet.
This she proceeded to do, aware that people
would think she had completely lost the plot.
She collected the washcloth and basin, walked
nervously up to the woman, and explained that
she was supposed to wash her feet. The woman
looked shocked, but did not resist as her
shoes and socks were removed, and her feet
were washed. The woman washing the feet concentrated
on her task, hoping and praying that she had
heard the voice of the Lord correctly.
Finally she had the courage to look up at
the woman whose feet she was washing, just
to gauge her reaction. The woman was weeping
freely. When asked why she was crying, the
woman replied: “I just now was feeling
entirely worthless, and was asking God what
he must think of me. God responded by having
you wash my feet.”
Jesus showed the “full extent of his
love” to his disciples by taking on
the appearance of a slave and washing their
feet. (John 13) He later went on to call his
disciples “friends” instead of
“servants”, because everything
he had learned from his Father he had passed
on to them. (John 15:15) Jesus, through whom
everything was created, showed his disciples
how much he thought they were worth by serving
them, and ultimately by dying for them.
The world, on the other hand, is not terribly
interested in service. Instead, it wants to
convince us that we are seriously worthless
in any number of areas. The whole basis of
the advertising industry is an assault on
our self-worth. If we are told often enough
that we don’t look or smell or act right,
then we will probably be ready to purchase
a product that promises to increase our chances
at love, friendship, job promotion, etc…When
every product we try or effort we make fails
to truly bring us satisfaction and fullness
of life, it takes us further down into the
sense of worthlessness and hopelessness. We
end up believing the lie that we are not smart
enough or beautiful enough or good enough
to be loved.
This is not what God thinks of us at all.
We are not mere servants, we are not simply
failures, and we are certainly not worthless.
We are friends of God himself, “a chosen
people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people belonging to God.” (1 Peter
2:9) We are created in the image of God, our
lives were bought at the price of Jesus, and
Jesus came to bring us life to the full. Human
life, your human life, is sacred. In fact,
C.S Lewis once wrote that your neighbour might
be the most sacred thing you come across this
side of heaven. We are incredibly important
to God, and that should never be forgotten.
Moreover, we are not alone. One of the biggest
lies we are told and that we tell ourselves
is that if anyone really knew us, the real
us, they would not be able to love us. Not
according to Jesus: “My sheep listen
to my voice; I know them, and they follow
me. I give them eternal life, and they shall
never perish; no one can snatch them out of
my hand. My Father, who has given them to
me, is greater than all; no one can snatch
them out of my Father’s hand.”
(John 10:27-29)
Nothing can separate us from the love of our
Father. That love is the only thing that can
bring satisfaction to our lives, and, happily,
that love is the very thing we were created
for. Jon Foreman, a member of the hit band
Switchfoot, explained this when asked about
the meaning of their song, “Meant to
Live”:
"When I look at
the magazine pages or a TV screen, I know
there's nothing they can sell me that can
satisfy me. And when I look at the sunset
or the stars, I am reminded that there's something
inside of me that's meant to live for more
than what pop culture often sells us. The
punchline is: I'm not buying and I want something
more." Jon Foreman (mtv.com)
That “something more” is the destiny
placed in our lives to experience the fullness
of the love of the Father. And that destiny
– the promise that we will never be
forgotten or forsaken – should tell
us all we need to know about our worth in
God’s eyes.
Perhaps it is time that you allowed Jesus
to wash your feet, to let you know the full
extent of his love for you. |
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Youthwork -
The Partnership ...
ALOVE,
Youthwork Magazine, Youth For Christ, Spring Harvest and
Oasis are working together to equip and resource the Church
for effective youth work and ministry. |
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