Every day, at the end of our morning class in Kampot, Cambodia, we held a 15-minute chapel session for our students. Usually, it consisted of a Bible story skit, some songs and a game. Our very last day of ministry we decided to do something really special for them, to show them how much we loved them.
That morning, while the kids were watching “The Prince of Egypt,” we all gathered six buckets and basins and filled them with soap and water. We lined up six chairs inside the church and paired a soapy basin with each one.
As the kids came piling in after the movie their faces looked puzzled at what was set up in the church. We told them the story of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples, how he came to earth to serve and not to be served, and so we, as their teachers, wanted to serve them by washing their feet.
They looked a little hesitant at first, not wanting to be the first one to sit down. We guided them towards the chairs, dividing them up evenly among the six of us.
What happened was remarkable.
Each child would sit down in the chair uncomfortable and unsure of what exactly was happening. Then, as I began to wash their muddy and stained little feet, their uncomfortable facial expressions would slowly turn into smiles. Every time I looked up and smiled, they smiled bigger.
Most of their feet looked like they hadn’t been washed in days, and the water turned brown quickly.
The longer I washed their feet, the happier they became. I sensed a peace in each of them, as the feeling of being loved, served and cared for began to sink in. And the longer I washed their feet, the more I loved them and the more I wanted to love them.
It was such an incredibly intimate moment, and one the children and I, myself, have never experienced before. It was beautiful, pure and holy.
The story of Jesus’ service to his disciples from the story in John came to life in my heart in a new and special way I had never experienced it before. It became real, tangible, and even more incredibly important. It’s an act of service unlike any other…to wash the feet of someone; the dirtiest, lowliest part of the human body.
And we had the privilege to wash not just anyone’s feet, but the precious, dirty, messy little feet of our Cambodian students, who walk everywhere barefoot, not a care in the world of what they are stepping on or in, or give any thought to the fact that they need to be washed ever at all.
We are not on this earth to love and serve ourselves; to make sure we are happy and satisfied, as the world and media commonly like to tell us.
We are on this earth to love and serve others, and in doing so, love and serve our Savior.
When our focus comes off ourselves and onto those around us, it makes us truly happy. It’s what brings true joy and wealth and richness. It’s what brings our souls to life because it’s the way God created us to live.
As Servants.
Because He was a servant.
In what way can you serve those around you today? To show them a little piece of the love God feels for them.
‘He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him…. “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.”….. “You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you." '
John 13:4-15
“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
Matthew 25:40
