Today is Thursday, April 24th, 2008; Karen's Korner #1299
From Max Lucado's book "The GIFT for all people: Thoughts on God's Great Grace:
The chapter title is "With Towel and Basin":
"It is almost time for the Jewish Passover Feast.
Jesus knew that it was time for him to leave this world and
go back to the Father. He had always loved those who were his own
in the world, and loved them all the way to the end.......
So during the meal Jesus stood up.....poured water into
a bowl and began to wash the followers' feet.
~~ John 13:1 - 5
Behold the gift Jesus gives his followers! He knows what these men are about to do. He knows they are about to perform the vilest act of their lives. By morning they will bury their heads in shame and look down at their feet in disgust. And when they do, he wants them to remember how his knees knelt before them and he washed their feet. He wants them to realize those feet are still clean.
Remarkable. He forgave their sin before they even committed it. He offered mercy before they even sought it. Aside from geography and chronology, our story is the same as the disciples'. We weren't in Jerusalem, and we weren't alive that night. But what Jesus did for them he has done for us. He has cleansed us. He has cleansed our hearts from sin.
Even more, he is still cleansing us! "We are being cleansed from every sin by the blood of Jesus" (I John 1:7). In other words, we are always being cleansed. The cleansing is not a promise for the future but a reality in the present. Let a speck of dust fall on the soul of a saint, and it is washed away. Let a spot of filth land on the heart of God's child, and the filth is wiped away. Jesus still cleans his disciples' feet. Jesus still washes away stains. Jesus still purifies his people.
Our Savior kneels down and gazes upon the darkest acts of our lives. But rather than recoil in horror, he reaches out in kindness and says, "I can clean that if you want." And from the basin of his grace, he scoops a palm full of mercy and washes our sin.
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