Can I Give You a Pedicure?

Have you ever had a pedicure? If you have, then you know how heavenly they feel. But have you ever thought about the person giving the pedicure? Their job is to wash dirty, sweaty, smelly, calloused, ugly feet. They soak, scrub, buff, sand and clip, transforming these filthy body parts from grimy to clean.

When Jesus lived on earth, washing a guest’s feet was a job for a household servant. Imagine how dirty feet were in Bible times. Servants must have scraped layer upon layer of dirt from the guest's feet. Even the posture of cleaning feet – bending low – displays humility.

Knowing these cultural facts makes it even more surprising to read in John 13 that Jesus washed His disciples’ feet. He lowered Himself to the position of a servant. What were the disciples feeling when their Lord and Teacher humbly washed their filthy feet?

When Jesus finished the Bible-time pedicure, He said, “Now that I have washed your feet, you should wash one another’s feet … I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master.”

Jesus was telling his disciples in no uncertain terms that they should serve others. We also must accept this call. Does this mean we should go from house to house with a basin of warm water and some foot scrub? While our neighbors would probably love it, I think Jesus meant that we should serve others according to their needs.

Serving others can take on many forms. You can pray, send a note, bring a meal, donate your time, go on a missions trip, give financially, watch someone’s kids, help at a homeless shelter, become a foster parent – the list could go on forever. There are so many ways to wash feet!

Whose feet does God want you to wash? How does God want you to give a pedicure to someone in need? Let’s follow Christ’s example and wash someone’s feet today.

Scripture: John 13:1-17

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for setting the example of serving others by washing Your disciple’s feet. We want to follow Your command of serving others. Please show us a need that we can meet. We want to humbly serve others. We want to wash feet.