Insights from Dr. Kim: It’s About More Than Dirty Feet

Now that I your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you should also wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. John 13: 14-15

This verse from John 13 is interesting. It’s a verse I have read many times. The setting is an upper room where Jesus and His disciples have gathered for their last meal together before He is crucified. Because in Jesus’ time, people walked on dirt roads to get to their destinations, washing feet was both a custom and a necessity.

Throughout His earthly life, Jesus served people. He gave us an incredible example of loving others through action. So Jesus washing the feet of the men who were closest to Him does not surprise me when I stop to think about it. The part that I skipped over many times is the last part of that verse: “you should also wash one another’s feet.” What does that even mean? Sure my feet get dirty and so do Nancy’s, but we are seldom walking on dirt roads in open sandals. When we get dirty we just jump in the shower. So it was easy for me to dismiss that verse. Yet, I think there is more than dirty feet going on here.

Jesus goes on to say, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” Jesus is talking about service, humility and showing love and care. Sure He lived His life that way but the time He served others and gave us a command was the night that He served those closest to Him. For me, the closest person to me is Nancy. Am I serving her the way Jesus wants me to? Am I conscious of her needs each day and seeking to meet the ones God wants me to meet?

Marriage is for a lifetime and the opportunity to treat someone we love like Jesus treated those He loved is in front of us every single day. It’s not necessarily washing your spouse’s feet everyday, although that might work for you. It’s serving your spouse. It’s looking for ways to come along side of them. It’s letting our spouse know that we are all in day after day. It’s doing for our spouse what Jesus did for His disciples. What about you? What will you do today to carry out Jesus’ actions with your spouse? How will you “wash their feet” today?

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