I must see what it cost Him

Standout Verses – John 13:1,4,5,8a
[Jesus] had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.
“No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!”

And I protest too. But at least Peter had the excuse of not having read the passage many times before and having heard sermons on it and read theological treatise explaining it. For him this was new and unfamiliar: it would be uncomfortable and I understand that reaction. For me it is uncomfortable to read this and imagine Jesus wrapping a towel around his waist and walk up to my feet, but for different reasons. I feel that I would sully him; tarnish his deity by him having to come into contact with me, for I know where those feet have been today … the paths I trod in my actions and my words and my thoughts. These feet are dirty and Jesus should only bend down to cleaner feet than these, for he deserves the best and that is not what I can offer today; not what I can offer most days. Sometimes I can only offer my worst … it is the best that I can do and it is the reality of me. If he comes near my feet then the water would be stinkin’ and the towel would be boggin’. Jesus would be covered in filth, in my filth, and that is uncomfortable to me.

Notes from the NLT Life Application Study Bible (Jn 13:1):

Jesus knew he would be betrayed by one of his disciples, denied by another, and deserted by all of them for a time. Still he “loved them to the very end.” God knows us completely … He knows the sins we have committed and the ones we will yet commit. Still he loves us. How do you respond to that kind of love?

I respond with disbelief and choked back tears and they switch about. Love like this … forgiveness like this ... is beyond my grasp. Grace is more than I can comprehend.
Still he loves us.
Still he loves me.
Of course … Of course. The only feet worth cleaning are the dirty ones.

Standout Verse – John 13:8b
Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.”

The cost of forgiveness is not one sided, for I must pay a cost too. I must see what it cost Him.

Psalm 119:4-8
Lord,

You have charged me
to keep your commandments carefully.
Oh, that my actions would consistently
reflect your decrees!
Then I will not be ashamed
when I compare my life with your commands.
As I learn your righteous regulations,
I will thank you by living as I should!
I will obey your decrees.
Please don’t give up on me!

Amen.