Thursday, April 1, 2010

John 13: 3-11

It's Maundy Thursday today, which is when that passage from John's Gospel is set.

I used to play cricket. The scene in our changing rooms after a cricket match wasn’t something for delicate eyes. Eleven sweaty blokes aren’t exactly a fragrant sight. But I expect this is the sort of thing that God sees regularly. He must look on humanity sometimes and wonder what on earth his children are like.

Judas was included in the foot washing, and Jesus made reference to him, because he already knew it was this particular man who would betray him. He explained to the disciples that even if they'd had a bath and were clean from head to toe, what he was really concerned about was inner holiness.

Someone once said that receiving blessings and love from on high, is like being in a shower and being completely saturated by the Holy Spirit of God; turning your face towards heaven and soaking up the living waters; being drenched in love and forgiveness; being inundated with thoughts of praise and worship.

But for many people this never happens, because they get into the shower with an umbrella which they firmly put up! All the out-pouring, overflowing love of God bounces off the umbrella and washes away down the drain. What a waste!

God doesn’t just call us to get our feet wet. He wants us to let down our barriers and receive all his blessings.

3 comments:

  1. Thank you, Dave. I liked the changing room analogy!

    But waste? Waste maybe for the umbrella-wielding individual, but could it be argued that the 'water' is endlessly recyclable? Or do you think there is a limit?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I meant what waste for them, that they've rejected the love freely offered.

    Of course, God's love is unexhaustable, limitless.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you for those inspiring thoughts today.

    ReplyDelete

Keep it clean, folks.