A Servant Heart

During a mid week prayer meeting, at our Church, years ago, a member of the Church did something wonderful.  There weren’t a whole lot of us, maybe fifteen in all, but everyone of us was in awe.    

One after the other we filed into the Church, and up to the front.  There, our pastor, Brad, had arranged all the chairs into a circle.  We each took a seat, quietly talking to each other, waiting for the meeting to begin.  Then in walked Selina, kind of a quiet woman.  She was carrying a very large bowl of water and a towel was hanging from her arm.

Selina started to explain, “I had some bad feelings for some of the people in this Church.” she went on to say that she had a strong feeling that she should serve us.  She stepped into the middle of the circle of chairs and knealed down in front of one of the men. She untied one of his shoes, took it off and put his foot in the water.  Selina tenderly washed his feet.

My first thought was, “I just got done working a whole day in these shoes, no way am I letting her near these feet!”  She dried the first mans feet with the towel that she had hanging over her arm, then went on to the next person.

Everyone in the circle sat silently watching Selina, not a word was spoken.  As she got closer to me, I asked myself, “How can I get out of this?”  But I didn’t move.

Next thing I knew, Selina was on her knees in front of me, untying my shoe, just as she did with each other person.  Gently, she took off my shoe and placed my foot in the water.  As she washed my foot, all the negative feelings and thoughts were washed away.  This was the sweetest gesture I had ever seen.  Selina had bad feelings, so instead of holding on to those feelings, she humbled herself enough to wash my feet.  I started to cry.  Then instead of my thoughts being focused on myself, they were focused on Jesus.  I looked around and others were crying, or praying some heads down, some arms lifted.  I felt God envelope that room like a thick fog.  

After that evening, Selina was changed.  Instead of being quiet and keeping to herself, she was open and friendly, and I grew to love her.

In Matthew 20: 26- 28, Jesus says, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave- Just as the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”