Last week we helped out at the municipal. I sifted MANURE in the heat for hours to make fertile soil, and I actually felt really close to the Lord while doing it.
Let me start by saying this- if 6 months ago some man handed me a crate and pointed at poop for me to sift, I probably would have laughed in his face! It’s funny how the more we pursue the Lord, the more we start looking like Jesus, because this actually ended up being my favorite day of ministry! I kept looking at my teammates and the people around me exclaiming “I FEEL SO CLOSE TO JESUS RIGHT NOW!”
Luke 22:26 says “But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant.” John 13 is the perfect representation of Jesus making His words come to life.
In John 13 the story of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples is told. Jesus and the disciples had just traveled through Jerusalem, and their feet were filthy from the dust. At this time, washing the feet is a task for only the lowest of the low. It was reserved for the lowest ranked slave of the household. I can imagine the disciples looking around at each other after their long day trying to decide who would wash the feet, and maybe even arguing about it. Deciding none of them were going to do it, they sat for dinner with dirty feet. Jesus; the highest ranked person in the room, stood up, removed His outer garments, put a towel around His waist, and began washing the disciples feet. In that moment, the greatest among them became the lowest. In John 13:14 Jesus says, “And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each others feet.”
Being a follower of Jesus does not mean sitting on a pedestal as the rest of the world does the dirty work. Jesus makes it SO clear to us that following Him is the exact opposite of that! It means washing feet, doing extra dishes, and in my case, on Tuesday it meant sifting poop! And guess what, that’s what Jesus does for us already! We come to Him with all of our mess, and He sifts through it and turns it into something that gives life. So when the man at the municipal handed me a crate and pointed to the manure for me to sift, I did it with so much joy and laughter; knowing that in that moment, I was being just a little bit more like Jesus.
