October 22, 2026
During the Lord’s Supper in John 13, Jesus gets up from the table and washes the feet of His disciples. It is important to realize the extent of what is happening at this moment: God Himself willingly places Himself in an extreme position of humility and servitude. Even though He is their Lord (John 13:13), He takes this humble action to demonstrate two main points. Firstly, the act of washing the feet serves as a picture of Jesus’ ultimate mission: to serve humanity through His humble death on a cross, a death that washes us clean from all sin. Secondly, Jesus intends His demonstration of humility to serve as an example to His disciples (and anyone who reads the passage). Just like Jesus, Christians are called to serve the people around us in humility. ...
By washing the feet of the disciples, Jesus not only highlights the purpose of His coming, but also seeks to set an example for Christians to follow. Having washed their feet, Jesus taught them, saying: “So if I, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash another’s feet. For I gave you an example, so that you also should do just as I did for you” (John 13:14–15). Jesus makes it clear that this is the attitude of humility that those who follow Him should adopt when they interact with others around them. Christians … are to serve their community.
Just as Jesus (God Himself) was willing to humble Himself by becoming a man, to serve by washing the feet of the disciples and to die on a cross for our sake, we as His followers need to put aside our selfish ambitions and desires and seek the benefit of others.—Planetshakers1
*
We bring God glory by serving others with our gifts. Each of us was uniquely designed by God with talents, gifts, skills, and abilities. The way you’re “wired” is not an accident. God didn’t give you your abilities for selfish purposes. They were given to benefit others, just as others were given abilities for your benefit. The Bible says, “God has given gifts to each of you from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God’s generosity can flow through you. … Are you called to help others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen” (1 Peter 4:10–11).—Rick Warren
Being a waitress is a challenge. I know, I did it for years. In our culture, waiting tables is just a bit above collecting garbage, with all due respect to garbage collectors. It’s honest work, but let’s face it, you don’t get much respect. The hours are long, it’s physically demanding, people can be difficult, and tips miserly. Even with all that, the biggest challenge is the challenge to your self-esteem.
Waiting on someone is the simplest example of service, and it got me thinking about the dynamics of serving. Webster’s defines “to serve” as “to be of use, to furnish or supply with something needed or desired,” and service as “to be of help, use, benefit, contribution to the welfare of others.” Webster’s also notes that the word service comes from the Latin root servitium: the condition of a slave.
Service implies there is a lack somewhere, a need to be filled. A waitress serves because someone is hungry. In a way, all service acknowledges that we live in a broken world, permeated with “not enough”—not enough food, time, money, love, attention. The variations on this theme are endless and experienced by everyone.
We live in a world of lack, surrounded by unmet needs and the walking wounded just like us. But even the poorest among us have something to offer, whether it is a smile, a kind word, or five loaves and two small fish. The smallest act of service goes toward patching a hole in the universe we inhabit.
Serving others is a vote for hope. … We are trusting that we will have “enough” time, talent, or treasure to be of service and still have our own needs met. Most of all, serving others is a vote of confidence in the Creator of the universe, acknowledging that he will provide as we give ourselves away. …
In Luke 9, Jesus was surrounded by thousands of hungry people. There were only the smallest of resources available … five loaves and two fish.
He was grateful for what he had and lifted it to heaven with a prayer of thanks. He believed and trusted his Father in heaven for both his ability and desire to provide what was needed. And then the miracle happened. He continued to give out the food. He and his disciples served the gathering of 5,000. One translation says, “They all ate to their heart’s content; and when the scraps they left were picked up, they filled twelve great baskets.”
The story of the loaves and fishes illustrates the abundance available through God when we approach him with gratitude and trust. This is how Jesus lived his life, trusting, serving. Let us go and do likewise. “For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves” (Luke 22:27).—The High Calling2
In the book of Galatians, the Apostle Paul wrote, “Serve one another in love” (Galatians 5:13). That’s a pretty tall order! Most people don’t like to be thought of as servants. They may not mind serving some people up to a certain point—their employer or customers, for example—but it’s difficult for them to think of being in a position of humbly serving others.
It is easier to think of service in terms of serving God, because He is so majestic and superior in every way to us as human beings. It can come more naturally to say, “Lord, I serve You” to an all-seeing, all-knowing, and all-powerful God than it is to take a position of service to our peers.
There are many verses in the Bible that teach us to put others above ourselves, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves” (Philippians 2:3), “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves” (Romans 12:10), “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).
Jesus said He “came not to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45), which means that Jesus Himself was a servant. Jesus “made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” (Philippians 2:7). If Jesus loved us so much that He was willing to take on the form of a servant for our salvation, how much more should we follow His example and serve others in His love?
The Bible says that “Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21). And Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” (John 20:21). His Father sent Him as a servant. Jesus had the love and humility to take on the form of a servant, and He asks that we follow His example of serving God and serving others. That takes a lot of humility, but the Bible teaches us to “not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased” (Hebrews 13:16).—Maria Fontaine
In John 13:15, Jesus sets an example for us to follow. After washing His disciples’ feet—an act of love, humility, and service—He encourages us to follow His lead and serve one another.
“I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you,” Jesus says.
Jesus, the Son of God, the Most High King, Lord of lords, never placed himself in a position above others. He led by serving, and He loved by serving. He washed feet. He fed thousands. He walked to visit and heal the sick and dead. He stopped to touch and heal a sick woman. He spent time with those no one else cared to spend time with. Jesus lived a life of humility.
Jesus showed us that serving others and humility go hand in hand. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:3–5). …
To be a servant means we genuinely need to care about people. It’s keeping our eyes, hearts, and schedules open for divine appointments. Jesus was not stressed by time, what others thought of Him, or a list of tasks to accomplish each day. Jesus was led by the Spirit of God and followed His promptings to serve, love, and help others. No task was ever beneath Jesus, and no person was ever unworthy. Serving others and genuine love go hand in hand.—NewSpring Church3
Published on Anchor October 2026. Read by John Laurence. Music by John Listen.
1 “The significance of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet,” planetshakers.com, March 31, 2023, https://www.planetshakers.com/blog/general/the-significance-of-jesus-washing-the-disciples-feet
2 The High Calling, “A Theology of Service,” theologyofwork.org, https://www.theologyofwork.org/the-high-calling/theology-service
3 NewSpring Church, “Lessons from Jesus on how to serve others,” newspring.cc, https://newspring.cc/articles/following-the-example-of-jesus
Copyright © 2026 The Family International