“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:18 NIV
God’s love flowing through us to one another should so mark the church. Ray Stedman (Expository Studies in 1 John [Word], pp. 264-265) tells the story of a Jewish man named Art who was raised as an atheist. At the close of World War II, he was in Germany with the American army and saw the gas chambers at the concentration camps. It filled him with hatred, first toward the Germans and then to the entire human race. He gave himself to education but he came to see that education does not change hearts. Finally, he resigned his position. His wife lost her mind and was placed in a mental institution. Divorced, without ties, he went out to wander. One rainy day in Greece, grubby and dirty, he was hitchhiking. No one wanted to offer him a lift. He had stood in the rain for hours when a Cadillac stopped. To Art’s amazement, the driver did not just gesture for him to get in. He got out of the car and welcomed him warmly. He took Art’s dirty rucksack, threw it on the clean upholstery. Then he drove Art to a hotel, rented him a room and gave him some food. Finally, he asked Art what he was doing and where he was going. All the pent-up heartache, misery and resentment of a lifetime came pouring out of this young Jewish atheist, while the man listened. When Art was through, the man said, “You know what this world needs? Those who are willing to wash one another’s feet.” Art said, “I never heard anything so beautiful. Why do you say that?” The man said, “Because that’s what my Lord did.” Art became a Christian and went on to devote his life to serving the Lord. The unnamed man demonstrated today’s verse.
PRAYER THOUGHT
Lord, by Your Spirit, let us be willing to wash one another’s feet.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Lord, by the constant leading of Your Holy Spirit in our lives, show us how we can wash one another’s feet and lead others to encounter Your love. AMEN
I.B.R.A. Readings
2 Samuel 13:1-22
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