THE LESSON OF SERVICE by J. R. Miller He got up from supper,
laid aside his robe, took a towel, and tied it around himself. Next
he poured water into a basin, and began to wash his disciples'
feet, and to dry them with the towel tied around him. John 13
verses 4 and 5. Serving is not an easy lesson
to learn, but it is a lesson we must learn if ever we would
become like our Master. Jesus did not come to be served,
but to serve. He served to the uttermost, just
as He loved to the uttermost. Any service that needed to be
done for another, he did as naturally, and as simply, as he breathed. He loved people, and was interested
in them, and was ready always to be helpful to them. It never
mattered what the service was, whether it was the saving of
a soul, the curing of a grievous sickness, or the giving of a
cup of water. He did the least service as graciously
and as divinely as the greatest. The washing of feet was the lowliest
service any man could do for another. It was the work of the
lowliest slave. Yet Jesus, without hesitation,
did this service for his own disciples. Thus he taught them,
that nothing any one may ever need to have done by another
is unfit for the holiest hands. We begin to be like Christ, only
when we begin to love others enough to serve them, regardless
of the lowliness of the particular service. One day a stranger entered
an artist's studio in Milan. The artist was busy within. He
was working on a painting of the head of Christ, and appeared
to take no notice of the stranger. At last he broke the silence,
looked at the man, and asked, Sir, does it look like Jesus
or not? There is no surer test of the
genuineness of Christian life than in this matter of serving
others. In serving others we should inquire,
Are we like Jesus or not? We are too careful of our dignity. When we see the Son of God washing
His disciples' feet, we should be ashamed ever to ask whether
anything another may need to have done is too menial for us
to do. A king may do the lowliest kindness
to the poorest peasant in his realm, and his honor will only
be enhanced by it. O blessed Jesus, when I see you
bending, Girt as a servant at your servants' feet, Love, lowliness,
might, in zeal all blending, To wash their feet, and make
them meet, To share your feast, I know not to adore Whether your
humbleness or glory more.