I HAVE GIVEN YOU AN EXAMPLE
I HAVE GIVEN YOU AN EXAMPLE
Jesus had always astonished His followers every hour,
No one had ever taught with such authority and power.
He walked on stormy seas and calmed the waves,
He taught the disciples never to fear but to be brave.
There was a special lesson that caught the disciples off-guard,
After supper one evening, Jesus, His outer garments, did discard.
He girded Himself as a servant would; He filled a basin full of water,
The disciples watched Him approach them with great wonder.
Then He knelt before them and began to wash their feet,
The hearts of the disciples were greatly moved by this humble deed!
Tears flowed as their feet were cleaned and dried,
Why had the Master chosen to do this, in protest, they cried?
He warned them of how sin would attach itself, like dirt to their feet,
They must ever seek cleansing or they could be hurt by sin’s conceit.
“I have given you an example…” Jesus simply said,
He wanted His disciples to fathom this lesson in their head.
Peter struggled, his feet he refused the Lord to cleanse,
Jesus looked at Him in the eye and said with no pretence.
If He did not wash his feet that very day,
He cannot be His disciple and he must go away!
Tears streamed down when Peter heard these words,
The thought of leaving Jesus was just absurd!
It was just that he could not fully comprehend,
Why Jesus had stooped to be a slave, his feet to attend.
More than the feet of the disciples were cleansed that day,
Hearts and minds had received revival from sin’s decay.
They found a new sense of true humility that day,
Henceforth they would walk as Jesus showed the way.
John 13:15