I have a feeling I want to share with you. It may be a sin—I don’t know. I hope that it is not. But here it is. I don’t want anyone who does not care about me to care for me. I don’t know if that is pride or foolishness. But I’m telling you that is how I feel. If you don’t care about me, I will find it difficult to accept that you will want to care for me.
Caring about suggests that your feelings are involved in your care of others. Caring for suggests you are willing to do things for others even though you may not care about them. Caring about is focused on making life greater for others. Caring for is focused on you doing what is expected of you.
Why is all this important? Well, it’s Jesus. He taught us about caring in John 13. Scripture says that after the Lord’s last supper with the disciples, He washed their feet. As He did this, Peter challenged Him by saying, “No Lord. You cannot wash my feet.” In verse 8, Peter and Jesus had this conversation. “Peter said to Him, you shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”
I believe I would have acted like Peter. How could I allow the Lord, the Son of God, the King of Kings, to wash my feet? He is too holy, and I am too unholy. But, washing us is one of the key reasons Jesus came to us. And He didn’t just come to do a job, He came because He cares about each of us, and because He cares about us, He cares for each of us.
Jesus teaches us to both care about others and to care for others. He wants to make certain that as we go about serving the needs of others we do it with right spirit, the right heart, and the right emotion. He wants more than caring for; He wants us to care about.
By washing the feet of His disciples, He teaches us to be humble and to be servants. Peter did not want Jesus to wash his feet because the task was too menial. Jesus’ response was that you cannot truly be identified with Me unless I wash you. Most of us get the message loud and clear. We should practice humility and serve others as Christ did. We must first care about others as the basis of our care for others. But there is another message that goes to who we are.
You and I can have no part with Jesus today unless we too are washed by Him. Yes, the truth then is still truth today. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. You and I, if we are to be identified with Him, we must be washed by Him today.
Today, He lives in us through His Word and by His Spirit. The Word of God is the Son of God and by His Love and His care about us, He saves us all. By washing and regenerating and renewing us, He transforms us into His very likeness.
When Jesus washes us, He doesn’t just remove our dirt. He deposits His virtue and His care about others into our hearts so that we can care about others and care for others as He did. Jesus knew Peter needed more than just the example of humility and servanthood. You and I need more than that too.
So, He says, “Let Me wash you, cleanse you, and regenerate you from what you are into My likeness.” You cannot love like Him with your old heart. You cannot think like Him with your old mind. You cannot do like Him with your old spirit.
He must wash all the old things away so that He can give you new things. So, rather than being like Peter, and like I was, let’s learn to stay before Him and ask Him daily to wash us. We cannot have a part with Him unless we accept that He wants to wash us daily. Wash us Lord daily and continually.
Live A Delivered Life. Love you.
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