“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.”

Philippians 2:3-5

The nurse was a little irritated that Mom couldn’t get up on the table for the doctor to examine her toe.

There’s one thing I’ve learned from taking care of my parent’s medical needs, and that is that the healthcare system needs a huge overhaul! Maybe in my next life I’ll have some influence over the workings of software integration, internal communication, scheduling, and customer service. But for now, I pick my battles on a daily basis. And this day I stood strong advocating that even with the little step stool to help, Mom wasn’t going to make it onto the table. But then I anxiously awaited my next battle….how will the doctor see her toe?

Much to my surprise, when the doctor came in, he shook our hand then hit the floor. In the most unexpected and heart melting moment, this doctor, whom we had never met before, positioned himself Indian style on the floor in front of Mom, to treat her toe!

This restored a little bit of my faith in humanity, but also really impressed on my heart that this highly educated doctor wasn’t afraid to get dirty! It reminded me a bit of Jesus.

Jesus wasn’t afraid to get dirty either!!! Even though He was the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, He knew the only way to melt hearts was to get dirty and not to place Himself above everyone else. He knew that His greatest influence would be to put Himself right smack in the middle of messes.

Jesus wasn’t humiliated by being a servant. In fact, because He came to be a servant (Matthew 20:28), His greatest demonstrations of power and love were done through acts that others might see as demeaning, or even dangerous.

Jesus didn’t hesitate to touch a leper (Mark 1:40-41). He got his hands muddy to heal a blind man (John 9:6). He walked an uncommon road to meet an unpopular woman at a well (John 4:4-9). And he lowered himself to the lowliest of servants to wash his disciples’ feet (John 13:4-5).

Yet, so often, when met with the opportunity to serve with the same kindness and mercy of Jesus, we fall into self-preservation mode. Not that it’s not sometimes wise to take precautions, but it’s good to evaluate if our fears are rational or if they are just an excuse to not get dirty.

As believers, we’ve been made clean. But sometimes we may think we’ve been made better. And that’s simply not true.

There are always needs to be met. Whether it’s in a tidy and neat prayer room or a dirty and rocky floor of a tent, “we must quickly carry out the tasks assigned to us by the One who sent us so the power of God can be seen” (John 9:3-4).

Just as Jesus dives into our messes to make us clean, we must dive into the messes of other’s as well.

The time is now! Do something unexpected! Get yourself dirty! For you have already been cleaned by the sacrifice and love of Jesus! Be brave and fearless as you show others the Way. And who knows? You might even melt your own heart when you see the impact you make on someone else’s day.

12 words

The Time is Always Now! Don’t be afraid! Melt hearts for Jesus!

#SaturdaySoulSearch