“So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, 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 should do as I have done to you.”
— Jesus, John 13:12-15
Take Your Position
I'll never forget the title of a teaching series by my pastor, Skip Heitzig: "Basin Theology". The "basin", of course, pointing to the implement for washing feet. The title is pregnant with meaning. Any theology or study of God that doesn't lead you to wash the feet of your brothers and sisters is not true theology. That was Jesus' point. To be like Christ is to be a servant. In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus said that the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.
So how do we serve like Jesus? People don't wash their feet anymore. We have shoes and indoor plumbing with showers and...you get the picture. So what can we do to serve people like Jesus did?
It begins with humility, a heart of compassion, and a desire to be used by God in the lives of others by taking the low place.
Take Your Place
Read 1 Corinthians 12. It's arguably the most complete and succinct overview of what we mean when we say that every Christian needs to find their "fit" in the Body of Christ - The Church. The reason the Holy Spirit, through Paul, uses the metaphor of a human body to describe the Church is because of the striking parallels. Just as a human body has many organs and systems with very different functions, so the Church has many different parts and people with very different functions. But also like the human body, all the different parts work together to support the body as a whole. So it is with the Church - all the people everywhere who are followers of Jesus. Calvary Wolfeboro is one local church, a gathering of a small percentage of the universal Church. But as it is with the Church as a whole, so it is with our local church. Each person who is a part of the body of Calvary Wolfeboro has a unique set of talents, skills, passions, and gifts that establish your God-given fit.
Take Ownership
In Ephesians 4 we read that Jesus gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors to equip the church for the work of the ministry. As disciples of Jesus, we are all ministers of the gospel. We are all ambassadors of the Kingdom of God. The work of the ministry is two-fold. It is an inside work and it is an outside work. Some of our ministry is inside the body and some of it is outside the body. Both of these works are good and both are critical to the building of the church and spreading of the gospel. Some of the ministry that we are called by Christ into is informal. Some is formal. Whatever the case may be, as disciples of Christ and members of His body, we want to take ownership of what He’s called us to.