Servanthood

Today was the day that we went to feed the homeless and take them the clothes we have collected for a month. What a humbling experience. Ms Ola a lady who walked up was not homeless but was from the church next door. She was there to feed them breakfast that morning. We had no idea that they served them meals or had a clothes closet. She blessed me so, when she broke into tears and said "Thank you Jesus, you knew how much they needed this."  She hugged me and Justin.  As I watched her speak to the men and women there, they spoke to her with such respect and you could see their admiration of her. Not because she was nicely dressed or had money. She was dressed in her sweats, her hair pulled back, in old tenni shoes, and hustling around on a mission. They looked at her that way because she loved them and chose to use her time to serve them.  In normal terms you think of a servant as having a master and serving that master. So to some it may seem odd that a lady who had a job and her own life would be a servant to the homeless. But I looked at Ms Ola and thought of what a wonderful example of Jesus she was. In the days of the bible, washing feet was for the lowest of the low. To wash someones feet meant shame, anyone of value just didn't do it, it was the job for the least of the servants. But in John 13 Jesus did just that...

⁴ so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵ After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
 ⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
 ⁷ Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
 ⁸ “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”
   Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
 ⁹ “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
¹⁰ Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” ¹¹ For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
 ¹² When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. ¹³ “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴ Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶ Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

~John 13

Jesus said that he had "set the example" and that we were to follow it. That we were to serve one another no matter our statuses.  In verse 17 he said "now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." I feel so blessed today. I have never met such warm hearts.  Father thank you for the opportunity you gave me. Thank you for Ms Ola and all the "Ms Ola's" out there that are serving You by serving others. May we all follow the example!