As we bring our study of water images in the Bible to a close, I want to remind you of our guiding verse for these Refresh Devotionals.
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. – John 7:37
We have been refreshed as we looked to Jesus as our:
- Thirst-quencher – He is the One who satisfies and sustains. He is the One who truly satisfies our souls, not other things that we cling to.
- True Source – He supplies and sweetens. He is our provision.
- Truth-teller – He Sees us where we are and shows us truth.
- Timely and Trustworthy Rescuer – He saves us and secures us. There is power, safety, security in Him.
Today we will read about Jesus as our True Love. The One who sacrificed and stood in my place and yours so we could have a Covenant relationship with Him.
Read John 13:1-16.
What a beautiful picture of love and sacrifice. Jesus, our Lord and Savior, the King of the world bent down and washed the dirty, dusty feet of His disciples. Knowing that in just a few days He would be lifted high on a Cross in painful sacrifice for all mankind, He loved and showed His disciples how to love.
Water and a wash basin, those were the resources Jesus used to show His disciples what true love, service, and sacrifice looked like. I can only imagine Jesus, on His knees, looking up as His disciples gazed down at Him. What a paradox. Locking eyes, I wonder if the disciples saw their imperfect reflection in the Perfect Lambs’ eyes? I wonder if they sensed a tugging in their hearts pointing them to acknowledge their sins in light of the Holy God that knelt before them?
In the Old Testament the priest also washed with water in a basin. The Bronze Lavar, housed at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting provided a way then for the priest to be clean and cleansed for daily service in the Tent. They were commanded to wash both their hands and feet prior to entry.
Jesus, the Living Water, washes us with His blood, cleansing us and making us fit to serve and enter into our heavenly home with Him. There is no longer need for a Tent of Meeting. We are the tent and the Spirit of the Living God abides in us.
But, we must cleanse our hearts daily. We have been washed in the blood of the Lamb, but our flesh gets dirty. God’s Word, washes our minds, cleanses our souls, and enlivens our spirits daily.
I wonder if the disciples understood the symbolism in it all as Jesus knelt at the basin and washed their feet? To live a life of sacrifice, loving and serving others above self—that was the call then and that is the call on our lives now.
But how? How can an imperfect people live up to such a perfect example of true love?
I believe it comes through our daily cleansing. We do not have the capacity for this kind of love outside of Jesus. He helps us in our weakness.
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. – Romans 12:1-2
As we are transformed daily by the Word, we can love like Him. We can serve like Him. We can learn to sacrifice like Him.
Have you bathed in the Word today?
How are you loving and serving others?
Are you refreshed in Him?
Jesus said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. – John 7:37
Drinking from the never-ending fountain of genuine love and sacrifice is the only way, friends.
Drink in the Word of God today and be refreshed in Him.
