Serving Each Other

We were all lined up for the egg toss contest. Jack threw our team’s egg, and...SPLAT! The raw egg hit my new pink blouse and broke. As it slid down the front, it left a long trail. Jack laughed so hard, his body spiraled down to the ground like water draining out of a sink. He didn’t seem to mind that the "splat" meant we had lost the egg toss contest. Jack and I were part of the same church youth group. It wasn’t unusual for him to fall. Unsteady on his feet, he had difficulty walking. None of us knew what caused this. He never said, and we never asked. We just accepted it. And Jack. When he fell, we had learned not to try to help him up. Our role was to wait until he got up on his own. After that, we all continued with what we had been doing. One year, our youth group’s weekend camp retreat included a foot-washing service, following the example Jesus gave us when He washed His disciples’ feet on the night before He went to the cross. We proceeded in silence as our guest speaker read Scripture aloud. My partner and I sat in chairs facing each other. “I have to be really gentle and careful,” I told myself when I saw Jack’s feet in front of me. Praying the entire time, I wondered how I would get the towel under his feet to wash them. Could Jack move his feet to help? If I rotated them, would I break a bone in his legs? I thought about only washing the tops of his feet. That wasn’t the answer either. Jack was one of us. I would treat him that way. There was only one option left. I got up out of my seat and knelt on the cold concrete floor. I reached under Jack’s feet and thoroughly washed and dried them. I washed dozens of feet that day. Only once did I feel fully like a servant. When I left my chair—and my comfort zone—and got on my knees to wash Jack’s feet. • Kathy Irey • When Jesus washed His disciples’ feet, what did He tell them? (John 13:1-17) • Why do you think Jesus calls His followers to serve one another in love? (Galatians 5:13) How might God be inviting you to serve other people in your life tod