If you’d like to join me for my weekly Scripture reflection series, I’ll be using the RSVCE of the Bible. Here is the entire John XIII passage.
“Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. And during supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper, laid aside his garments, and girded himself with a towel.”
Many have a tendency to slack on their responsibilities when approaching the end of a task; high school and college students give in to senioritis during their final semester, and workers take liberties with vacation and sick days during their final weeks of employment with a firm. The mentality behind this is often: ‘I don’t care anymore; I mean, what can they do to me at this point?’ Thinking like this indicates that you may not be approaching life with the right motivations. We live, not for ourselves, but for others, and above all for Christ. To act as though a task no longer matters when its outcome no longer affects us personally is to neglect our duty as Christians, not to mention to form bad habits that can affect future commitments and relationships.
Jesus knew that His final hour was coming, and despite this, He loved his disciples to the very end. He knew what He must do and what He must undergo. He knew his death was imminent. Despite all this, Jesus did not think of shirking His responsibilities, and He continued fulfilling His role and duty. We should all strive to be like Christ. We cannot let laziness or complacency overtake us.
“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”
Jesus then points out that if He, our Savior and Messiah, can wash the feet of others, surely we can wash each other’s feet as well. He leads by example, and we are all meant to follow Him as closely as we can. He calls on us to support each other just as He supports us.
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’”
Unlike Christ, who is infallible and omniscient, humans will always be flawed and fallible. Because of this, we are not supposed to be content with the way we are. We are supposed to continually strive to improve on ourselves, to emulate Christ as much as we can, and to become better people – more godly people. Christ loves us in spite of all of our faults and downfalls, and more than that, He helps us overcome them. By challenging us and throwing countless obstacles in our way, Jesus spurs us on to improve, and He encourages us to reach out to others for help. To love one another as Jesus has commanded is to seek one another’s ultimate passage into heaven. This love can take many forms. We are called to support our fellow man, to ensure that he is not led astray, and to serve him as Christ did his apostles, even though he was the master and they were the servants.
What a very interesting read! Thank you for sharing with me ☺️
Ashleigh – https://www.ashleighsmoments.com
Thanks for reading!
It’s so true, that people slack of when they are coming to the end of something,
I’ve certainly been guilty of it myself.
Yes, and it’s quite unfortunate. This is something everyone can improve on!
I always look forward to your posts, they make me feel so much closer to God and at peace!
Love, Amie ❤
The Curvaceous Vegan
Thank you so much for your positive feedback, Amie! I’m so happy to hear that these reflections make you feel closer to God and more at peace.
Your posts bring me peace – and educate me on the bible. Love one another – we need more of that in this world
I’m so glad to hear that my Scripture reflections bring you peace and educate you on the bible! Thanks for reading, Lisa.
I love your insight here. I find often that near the end of something I experience burnout from pushing so hard previously. It’s so easy to slack off at the end and not continuing to give it our all, but like you said it’s SO important we finish strong and keep our heads up
Thank you for your positive feedback! I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed reading this post and hope you’re able to apply these lessons in the future 🙂
Ooooh I can relate to slacking off towards the end of the task. We feel like we have gotten so far that we have some room to slack off a bit. Though, I kind of fell short with that kind of mindset. I feel like at this point, we might as well give it our all until the very end. It takes a lot of willpower and strength to go through. Sometimes, we need some motivation, and religion can come into play with this. We need to take advantage of challenges that comes our way and show that we are capable.
Nancy ✨ exquisitely.me
I wholly agree with you, Nancy! I believe it’s best to give it our all and see things through to the very end. Then, we can truly say at the end that we’ve put our best foot forward and have no regrets looking back.
Isabelle, I just love you to pieces. Your love for the Lord is beautiful and inspires us all to seek His face on a deeper level. You’re right, if we are to be more like Christ, as we should be, then we must take our responsibilities seriously. Just because the world says “you don’t have to ____,” doesn’t mean it’s okay for us. To model Christ is to be set apart, especially when it’s not easy!
My favorite lines were these: “Unlike Christ, who is infallible and omniscient, humans will always be flawed and fallible. Because of this, we are not supposed to be content with the way we are.” — AMEN! We must choose to grow, each and every day. If we allow Holy Spirit to walk with us, talk with us, and show us where we need to let go and grow, we fulfill the call of God on our lives. First and foremost, we were created to be loved by Daddy God. From there, everything else surely gets better!
Sending my most heartfelt love to you, dear sister. You are incredibly special and I am grateful to have met you in this big old blogging world! 🤗 I’ve connected with you on Instagram as well (@wholenesshaven) Keep up the joy only you can bring!
Thank you so much for your kind words and thoughts, Holly! I hope you’re doing well and have connected with you on Instagram too☺️ I took a break from blogging for a while to focus on some big life changes but am glad to be back!