Sorry for the late devotional, my computer shut down on me this morning

John 13:6-8-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."

The Lord before His death uses an intimate time of washing the disciples feet to show them the example of how to be humble and show love to each other as He humbly loved them. But Jesus is using the act of washing their feet as a "symbol" of what believing upon Him means, that they are washed by His blood and forgiven by God. But notice that Jesus in vs.7 said to Peter that he would not understand what He is doing NOW, so he wants Peter to simply trust Him and wait.

Like Peter many of us speak and act usually by what we feel and independently think. When frustrated we "vent" but rarely then exercise faith to trust Jesus that He will eventually help us understand what He is doing! Peter in his impulsive personality showed just how stubborn and deaf to God we really are! Peter instead of humbly submitting to even what he doesn’t understand decides to tell Jesus NOT to wash him!

Now what if Jesus took him for his word and didn’t wash him, then it would symbolize that Peter has "no part" with Jesus (vs 8), which is hell! In God’s mercy, like a parent who has a very impulsive child, Jesus doesn’t scold him but simply clarifies for him what his unsubmitted heart is saying. Jesus continues teaching Peter the hard lesson of thinking and praying in faith before impulsive speech and actions. I pray for myself, and all of you that we would learn that we really don’t know anything (1 Corinthians 8 v2), which is why we murmur and disobey when things don’t go as WE plan! It’s really a sign that we don’t trust that God does know best.

In His Love, Ld