Daily Devotional for October 15

 

October 15                                                      Luke 7:36-50

I liked my spouse when he baked chocolate chip cookies for
a church social. I liked my spouse when he created colorful
costumes for Halloween. I liked my spouse when he hung
shelves in the pantry.

But when, in tears, he put tap water on the parched lips of
a hospitalized friend, I loved my spouse.

When we make commitments to one another, we never know
how far we will be asked to go or what thirsts we'll be called
upon to satisfy.

Friendship among Christians requires the willingness to be ser-
vants to one another, going the second mile, doing more than
what is simply socially correct. We must be willing to love
one another deeply and completely, for that is how we show
our love for Christ.

No, we'll never have the opportunity that the prostitute had.
We'll never, at least not in this lifetime, be able to wash the
feet of Christ with our tears, or to dry them with our hair.
But we can show how much we love Christ.

We show that love every day by the way we treat our friends,
the guests in our homes and, indeed, the strangers on the
streets. If we are rude, spiteful, and inconsiderate of them,
we have mistreated Jesus, for Jesus' spirit lives in all of us.

Christ expects us to be gracious in our show of hospitality to
those around us. But even more is expected of us. We have
to be willing to humble ourselves to meet their needs. And
those needs can be great, requiring a lot of foot washing.
People need someone to listen when they're troubled, some-
one to care for them when they're sick, and someone to love
them when they seem unlovable.

The task isn't easy. But the next time the needs of a friend,
or even a stranger, seem particularly disagreeable, we should
remember that the task is actually done for Jesus.

How else will we show that, given a chance, we, too, would
gladly wash Christ's feet?

​

From The Road to Emmaus - An inclusive devotional Edited by Joseph W. Houle

Emmaus House of Prayer - Washington D.C.1989