All Things NewSample

You Just Don’t Get it Yet…

Jesus washes the feet of the disciples…an incredible moment in history…the King of the universe bending his knee in order to do the work of a slave. Certainly this moment is rich with lessons about serving and selflessly loving others, but perhaps that’s not the only thing Jesus was teaching Peter that night.

As is often the case, Peter finds himself blurting out emphatic statements with little forethought or understanding. First he declares to Jesus, “You shall never wash my feet.” If we give him the benefit of the doubt, we can at least assume that Peter’s statement was spoken out of a humble heart. Nonetheless, who is Peter to tell Jesus what is or isn’t going to happen? It’s a bit presumptuous to say the least.

Once Jesus explains the importance of Peter’s need to be cleansed, Peter changes his tune. In an instant, he goes from “You will never wash my feet.” to “Wash all of me!” Again, if we look at Peter’s words with extra grace, we can see that his well-intended enthusiasm is the driving force behind his words. Still, we find him telling Jesus what ought to happen.

In the midst of this dialogue between Jesus and his beloved disciple, we see Jesus make a key statement. He says, “You don’t realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” In other words, “Peter, you just don’t get it…but later it will hit you.”

That night was important for Peter because Jesus taught him to just submit to his plans and wait for his purposes to be made clear later. We see Peter, throughout the rest of his ministry putting this lesson into practice.

There is a definite mystery to the workings of God in our lives. We can’t always see what he is doing or why. Like Peter, we blurt out to our Lord what we think ought to happen. At times we rush ahead presuming we know what’s best. Instead he calls us to just trust his plan. He invites us to wait and learn later what we can’t understand now.

Reading: JOHN 13:1-10

Reflections:

· Can you think of a time when, like Peter, you rushed ahead in your enthusiasm and took a wrong path…because at the time, you “just didn’t get it”?

· Can you think of a time in the past that seemed dark and hard to understand at the time, but later God revealed what he was doing in your life?

· What in your life seems confusing or hard to understand right now? Journal about what you think you ought to do with that circumstance?