The Omaha guide., 1947-03-08

On the v OF his crucifixlon Dur
Lord gave to his followers a striking
example Of how true humility shows
itself in service to others.
Almost in the shadow Of the cross
the disciples had fallen into an ar
gument about which Of them should
be greatest. Christ showed them
the way Of true greatness by an act
Of mental service, giving them an
example for their own lives. a pat
tern of love.
i. Action Wv. Sid.
He who was about to wash his dis
ciples feet was fully conscious who
he was, whence he came, what his
power was. and where he was going.
Verse 3 gives us a clear view Of
u Lords knowledge Of himself as
divine. sent by the Father and to
return to him. He was conscious
that he was King Of kings and Lord
Of lords-all things had been put
into his hands.
What followed would seem to be
a mistake-a misft in the pattern Of
the life Of a being so great as the
n described in verse 3-except for
the fact that it was Jesus Of whom
it was said.
He knew that real greatness
proves itself in the ability to stoop
if need be to minister to the hum
blest need. 1t was just ~likeNJesus to
take the place Of the servant. 1t Is
just like him to do the loving,
thoughtful, compassionate thing for
us today.
Peters impulsive refusal to be
washed enabled the Lord to teach
him. and US, a needed lesson. The
one who had come clean and we'll
groomed to the feast needed only to
have the dust Of the road cleansed
from his sandaled feet.
Just SO the one who has been
cleansed from his sins by the blood
Of Christ returns daily for the
cleansing Of the stains and soil Of
the journey through this wicked,
world. We must remember that this
constant cleansing Il John In is
necessary. It is not enough to make,
q decision for Christ and receive
salvation; we need his daily grace
for daily living.
III. Example wv. 12-15).
When he resumed his place at the
table, Jesus faced a humbled and
ashamed group Of men ready to
have driven home to their hearts
the powerful meaning of the exam
| pie which had been set before them.
They called him Lord and Mas
ter, and he agreed that they were
right. Now he had set them a pat
tern Of lowly service. They had al
ready sensed the rebuke involved,
so he stressed only the positive side.
the need for them to do what he had
done.
It is one thing to understand what
has been taught, it is another thing
to put it into practice. Jesus con-
ditioned his blessing on the doing.
rather than the hearing (see w. l6.
I'D.
We are told In James 1:22 that
the one who is a hearer Of the
Word and not a doer Of it Is self
deceived. He is fooling himself
about his supposed spiritual prog.
ress. God is not deceived by it, and
usually his fellow men are not de.
ceived by his profession Of what he
does not have. How sad then to &c
on deceiving himself and how fool
ish.
III. Command wv. "a, $50.
1t is really not a matter of choice
for the believer whether he will live
in the light Of this great example
it is a commandment Of God. oh
yes, it is a commandment Of love
but that makes it not less but NOR,
binding on us who believe in Christ
By act and example he set before
his disciples the great and new
commandment Of love. expressing it
self in loving service.
The of our love for ON
: brethren is the love Of Christ Jesus
That love. we all agree, was withou
limit. unbelievably great, mex
pressibly tender. infinite in its pur
pose and power.
We cannot measure up to II. VIVA
then shall we do? Surely we mus
give to our very limit and beyons
that limit by Gods grace. Of on,
love for one another. Nothing les
will do, if we are to keep his com
mandment.
Such love between Christian breth
rem has always been the most et
fective kind of testimony for Christ
AS men see true and sacrifcial Low,
shown between Christians, they ar,
drawn to Christ and the church.
The opposite is also true. Divi
sions and strife among believer
quickly become known to the world
and are always a ground for scorn
full rejection Of the truth which tn,
church processes to believe and i
asking the world to accept We can
not effectively apply the gospel rem
edy (and 1t is the only remedyD t
a strife-torn world while we are en-
gagged In unlovely battles with on
another. by this shall all mel
know that ye are my disciples" sai'
Jesus, "if ye have love n for M
other"
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