C.S. Lewis once wrote, “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in ...the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”
Vulnerability is the fear that often drives us away from a true interaction with God. We value comfort more than we value intense relationships with other people and God. I don't think we do this because we're mean people. I think we do this because we're lazy. To love and care for someone takes time; it takes sacrifice. When I first heard that we were supposed to wash the feet of the people of Masi, I knew our kids would be nervous. Most of these people walk barefoot on dirt or gravel roads. They are not well kept and their feet are not in good condition. One's natural reaction is to build a wall......any wall.... that will distance you from an act like foot washing. But Jesus celebrated this and we saw it first hand in John 12:3 when Mary washed his feet. The disciples were even taken back. Why would Jesus allow anyone to do this? Because love can be seen most clearly in our moments of vulnerability. You should have seen our group. They jumped in without hesitation. I had to make them rotate to other stations. They found the worst job possible and they worked as hard as they could. Then, after washing the feet of the Masi people, our group prayed with each member. Some prayed about financial struggles, others prayed about sick children, and some of our students prayed for comfort during the final stages of the life of an infected HIV patient. So it wasn't a lite day by any means. They were incredible and I've been blown away by their willingness to do the difficult projects placed in front of them.
After a long day of work we headed to Redhill to play with kids. There were some really great moments there. We danced, played soccer, chased each other and gave piggy back rides. You can start to see the connection between our students and the people around them. It took several days but it's happening and I truly believe the foot washing today broke all comfort barriers down. I urge you to listen to our students when they come home. Their words are wiser, their hands are dirtier, their hearts are brighter. These are your people half way around the world representing Christ and representing you and they are doing it well..just like Mary in John 12:3. It worked out well for her and the same could be said for our own.
Dr. King from Parkway Baptist Church is Ryan Wilson's current pastor. He's on the trip with us and he gave a wonderful explanation of another story in scripture that related to today. After washing the disciples feet Jesus reminded them that they would not forget that moment, and it's hard to argue with him. Think about the shock, guilt and embarrassment they must have felt after finally understanding servant-hood three years into Jesus' ministry. I believe with all my heart that just as the disciples will never forget the day Jesus washed their feet; our students will never forget the day they acted as Christ and washed the feet of others. That is servant-hood. It's tough to find anything to say about today but it's probably best summed up by the picture below of Mary Virginia.
Vulnerability is the fear that often drives us away from a true interaction with God. We value comfort more than we value intense relationships with other people and God. I don't think we do this because we're mean people. I think we do this because we're lazy. To love and care for someone takes time; it takes sacrifice. When I first heard that we were supposed to wash the feet of the people of Masi, I knew our kids would be nervous. Most of these people walk barefoot on dirt or gravel roads. They are not well kept and their feet are not in good condition. One's natural reaction is to build a wall......any wall.... that will distance you from an act like foot washing. But Jesus celebrated this and we saw it first hand in John 12:3 when Mary washed his feet. The disciples were even taken back. Why would Jesus allow anyone to do this? Because love can be seen most clearly in our moments of vulnerability. You should have seen our group. They jumped in without hesitation. I had to make them rotate to other stations. They found the worst job possible and they worked as hard as they could. Then, after washing the feet of the Masi people, our group prayed with each member. Some prayed about financial struggles, others prayed about sick children, and some of our students prayed for comfort during the final stages of the life of an infected HIV patient. So it wasn't a lite day by any means. They were incredible and I've been blown away by their willingness to do the difficult projects placed in front of them.
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