Question

Regarding Romans 12:10, it says, "Be devoted to one another," and John 13:14 about washing our feet and God washing our feet for "an example that you should do that."  And John 13:34, "This command I give you to love one another."  First of all, what is God trying to tell us?  And, are we doing that at the current rate of one or two "meetings" a week?

Answer

Good question.  He's asking, "What is the Lord trying to tell us about loving one another, washing one another's feet?"  Let me give you just a simple answer.  I believe that if you look at John 13 (maybe we ought to do that for just a brief moment), the whole illustration there has to do with love because in the very first verse of John 13 he says, "Having loved His own that were in the world, He loved them to perfection."  This is an illustration of love, and Jesus is going to show the love of God through Him to His own.  You remember the story--the disciples had come to eat a meal. 

In those days when you ate a meal you reclined in a sense.  Your feet were either muddy or dusty because it was either dry or wet and there were no roads and they wore sandals.  So it was a common custom when you came into a meal, because you tended to recline at supper, and you stayed a while and so forth, that your feet should be cleaned and somebody at the door would do that.  Now, that would be the lowest level of slavery--to wash feet--whoever the "foot-washing" servant was, was the bottom one on the rung.  Apparently, in this particular situation, as the disciples came into this occasion, none of them had had their feet washed, there was no slave there to do that and none of them would do it, because if you compare other passages it seems as though they were having a debate about who of them would be the greatest in the kingdom. 

While they were arguing about who was to be the greatest--none of them was willing to stoop and wash somebody's feet and sort of assign himself to the low place.  So it was the typical situation of the disciples sort of wrangling with each other about their own prominence and none of them had done this.  And then Jesus, wanting to demonstrate love, "Removed His outer garment, girded his loins with a towel, went about and began to wash their feet."  And of course, Peter didn't want Him to do it until He explained to Peter its significance, and then Peter said, "Wash my head and my feet. . . ."  Then Jesus summed it up by saying, "You call me Master and Lord: and you say well; for so I am.  If I then, your Lord and Master 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."

I don't think Jesus, here, is advocating "foot-washing" in itself, I think He is advocating loving service, and Biblical love is self-sacrificing service, and this is a classic illustration of it.  The supreme illustration of it is indicated in the words of Jesus when He said, "Greater love has no man than this, that a man would . . ."  What?  Lay down his life."  It is one thing to wash feet, it is something else to die for someone, but those are all expressions of love.  Biblical love then is demonstrated in the self-sacrificing of a person who stoops to serve another person.  Let me take it a step further.

At the end of the chapter, in verse 34 and verse 35, He says, "You are to love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another."  Now, how had He just loved them?  He had just loved them by washing their feet.  Why did He do that?  Because they needed that, in other words, loving service at the point of need.  OK?  Now, let me take it a step further just to clarify.

I don't believe that Biblical love is an emotion--necessarily.  I believe that Biblical love is self-sacrificing service in behalf of one who is in need.  When the Bible talks about loving one another it is not just talking about feeling emotional about people in a kind of an earthly expression of affection, or even in a godly expression of affection. It's talking more about self-sacrificing service, "God so loved the world that He. . . ."  What?  "That He felt emotional?"  No--"That He gave."  I think that the Biblical definition of love within the fellowship is that of meeting a person at the level of their need no matter how humbling such a meeting might be.  Now, having said that, I don't think that necessarily love occurs in the corporate assembly of the church--it can and I hope that it does, but love doesn't wait for us all to get together and sort of "feel" something--love can be exercised all through our week, through everyday, as we reach out in the name of Jesus Christ to wash the feet of someone in need, and that's how we can express that love.  And we are to do good to all men, but especially to those of the household of faith, showing them the love that we have for them.