washin my feet, washin my mind

I was just reading my Bible this morning and God revealed a new meaning in some Scripture, which I just think is so beautiful...

(Jesus is washing the feet of the disciples, and comes to Simon Peter to wash his feet)

SP:"You shall never wash my feet"
J: "If I do not wash you, you have no share with me."
SP: "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!"
J: "The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean..."

John 13:6-10




And then it struck me as I read this that Jesus has already cleansed us, by the sacrifice He made for our sins. He has wiped us clean. We are clean.
But.
Our feet.
What about our feet?

Well, our feet is what touches the world. Our feet is what keeps us "grounded", so to speak, and is evidence of our human flesh. We cannot fly. We are not fully spiritual beings. We are needy, we have to walk, we have to touch the ground, connect with the earth. And all of this is necessary (obviously, because if I could choose to fly I would), but it requires something of us. If the rest of my body is clean, but my feet are dirty, how am I to walk on the Holy Ground of God, without leaving footprints?

So Jesus meets me at the front door every day, and says,
"Will you allow me to wash your feet for you this day? I have made the rest of you clean already, but the world has left its mark on you."

What a beautiful picture of
G R A C E.

So, realistically speaking now: what are my feet? Well, I would have to say its my mind. My feet is my mind. Does that make sense? Gimme a sec. So, my eyes see things that they weren't meant to see (murder, sex, immodesty), my ears hear things that they shouldn't hear (gossip, cursing, rage, slander), and I feel things in my heart that I shouldn't feel (anger, lust, jealousy, conceit)... and all of this funnels into the resting place of my mind. The place where I should understand the peace and holiness and goodness and glory of God, my Father. I don't want that all there, muddling up my understanding of God: my ability to hear Him, to see Him, to feel Him. I want it to be washed out. I need my mind to be washed clean.

But I don't know how.
I can close and squeeze my eyes real hard, wishing those thoughts and feelings and visions and voices out my head... but they just don't go.

Jesus needs to clean my mind out Himself. And He will, too, if we give Him entry to do so.
The Word explains it better than I do:


"..assuming that you have heard about Him and were taught in Him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." Ephesians 4:23


"Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison..."
2 Corinthians 4:16

"Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who hae been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under Grace." Romans 6:12-14


WOW.


How cool is that? He will clean us. Jesus is eager to clean us.
Because we need to be cleansed.
Sorry if you thought that you were perfect.
News flash: you're not.
Look at your "feet" if you don't believe me
(and by feet, I mean mind... what do you think about? what do you say? what do you see?)
(if you're like me-- human, that is-- it's not all good and dandy. you'll need some Help too).

Pray that Jesus would renew your mind today (and everyday). I sure will be.