Wondrous love, III

Yesterday we were looking about the room where the disciples and Jesus were celebrating the Passover. We talked about how Jesus was showing His wondrous love to those who would later deny, dishonor, and betray Him. And how our hearts are not geared like the heart of God....

Let's dive back in!
Why do we nod our heads and acknowledge that we are supposed to love one another, but we fail to do just that? We all agree that Jesus is our example, but then we fail to imitate Him consistently.
Well, our hearts are not like Jesus' heart. Even when we are saved, we struggle to emulate Him.

In reality, we are much more like Peter! Now, we aren't going to re-plow all the ground that we covered when we studied him....you probably recall the details of Peter's three years with Jesus, and the things that we discussed as we studied those years of epic fails and soaring successes!
But let's focus on just this one evening.
Just the time in this room.
As Jesus is showing them His example of loving one another, Peter looks Him in the eye and says, "You will never wash my feet."

Mic drop.
What? Well, Peter knows this is not the way the world works. He feels like this is turning things upside down. What Jesus is doing is absolutely contrary to everything Peter has ever known.
One hundred and eighty degrees wrong.
All his life, Peter has known that the powerful are served by the powerless.
And he knows, with a sinking feeling of guilt in his heart, that it was his job to have washed Jesus' feet -- not the other way 'round.
Quite simply, Peter has a problem with grace. Wondrous love causes grace to be shown to us. And Peter has a real problem with that.
You see, grace turns the world upside down, and freely, cheerfully gives honor, love, and respect, even when those are not earned -- when it's undeserved. Peter knew full well that he didn't deserve what Jesus was doing. He'd done nothing that would warrant Jesus' washing his feet, so he rejected what Jesus was offering.
Oh, Christian sisters (and brothers, if you've stopped here to read), we are so much like Peter! So many of us (maybe all of us!) have a problem with grace as well. We have issues with Christ washing us, dying for us, saving us all on His own merit, with nothing added on our part.

Let me rephrase that, OK?
We have a problem believing that there is nothing we have to DO to be saved. We want to add qualifiers to His wondrous love, His grace. Sure, Jesus died for us, our human brains think, but "there still is stuff we have to do to be saved, right? I mean, He forgave us our sins, but we better live a life "just so" so that we can get to heaven."

Why do our brains think this? Why do these thoughts creep in? Because it gives us a sense of control. And we humans are all about control. If it is all up to Jesus, then it's out of our hands.....everything. And we typically are not comfortable there.  After all, here on earth we don't get our happies thinking that someone else is in control. We really fight for the ability to control our own destinies, make our own decisions, be independent. So it's a real change to say that everything rests on Jesus, and what He has already accomplished. It's a stretch, a powerful, life-changing decision to realize that we must place our trust in Him...not in our own abilities, not in how well we have behaved, not in how much money or time we have given.....it all rests on Him.

To our human side, that keeps trying to assert itself over our spiritual side, this is very topsy-turvy. To have no control over whether or not we get to heaven? It's totally out of our hands? Wait a minute, we want to do something here; we want to have some input!

What does Jesus say to us in these moments when we are struggling to assert ourselves? To regain at least a portion of the control? Well, what did He say to Peter?

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” (John 13:8b)

Ouch.
Why did our loving Savior say that?
I love the writings of C. S. Lewis. I could read his stuff all day and all night; there is so much there that makes me think and re-think, and then I go to my Bible and prayer. Here is something that I think is really appropriate here:

“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done."  (C. S. Lewis, The Great Divorce)

Let me add my small words to those of Lewis....there are two types of people in this world. The first are those who come before God and submit to Him in repentance and gratitude. They bow at His feet and say to Him that whatever He has done, is doing, and will do in the future is A-OK with them. They give Him their lives and then listen to His voice and serve Him. They totally agree with God regarding their sin, and regarding grace.
Then there is the second type of person. These are those that God looks at, and because He sees their hearts, He tells them, "Well, I know that you are only interested in serving yourselves. In getting the things you want, and in preserving your control. You have your wants and desires and I will let you pursue them. I will let you go your own way."
God loves us enough to let us go. His wondrous love means that He wants us to pursue our deepest desires, the longings of our hearts -- even if that leads us away from Him. Just like He told Peter, He tells us, that if we want to do things on our own, if we don't want Jesus to wash us, we will end up on our own. We will be separated from Him because of our selfish actions, our desire for control. We are creatures of free will, but there are Consequences.

How does Peter respond?

“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” (John 13:9)

Y'all may not agree with me here, and I'm always open to thoughtful comments and critiques, but I think Simon still doesn't get it. He still is self-centered, even though his words sound good. Let me explain.....to put it in a rough translation, he is telling Jesus, "Hey, if a little bit is good, a whole lot must be even better! Wash more! Give me more!"  Does this sound a little bit like the old movies or television episode where the character decides if a small amount of detergent is good, the whole box will be even better? (Grin)
Usually there is a disaster afterwards, with suds everywhere.
For Simon Peter, the "disaster" is related to his soul, to his knowledge of Jesus, and to what he will say and do in just a few hours.... I believe that Simon Peter still was hanging on to the hope that Jesus was going to be the ruler of Israel. That He would establish an earthly kingdom, and the shackles of Rome would be broken and trodden underfoot. Peter wanted more of that. He wanted a bigger share, perhaps more prestige (or even power). So he wanted Jesus to wash his hands and head, to get that "more" that he desired.
Do we fall into that trap, too? Does our selfishness shoulder aside our better virtues? I believe that Peter's selfishness is showing here, and it is a testament to the fact that even though one walks with Jesus daily for years, listening, watching, and growing, one can still have a selfish heart. That's why our churches don't impress people by our love. That's why we fail at loving one another as He loved us. Our hearts are still selfish.
Our hearts need change. They need a repair so that we stop focusing on ourselves and our wants and what we can get....they need a total transformation.

Oh, before I let you go, would you pass that box of bandaids for my toes? We'll continue this next time.