The Value of Experience-Part 2

“If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.  For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.”- John 13:14-15

As I shared in my previous post, experience is everything! Jesus knew this, but His disciples did not. They were watching His every move, but they still did not grasp the message He was trying to convey. However, in the interaction between Him and His disciples before His death, He had to set the final example of service. He gave them the experience of humility in order for them to know what it would take to serve the way their Lord did.

Peter had some tension during this time and challenged Jesus. He suggested that Jesus was Lord, which He was, and there was no way He should be washing the feet of the disciples. Then, in a way only Jesus could do, the Lord made it clear that His position was not above them. Yes, He was Lord and their Teacher, but ultimately He was their example. He was giving them the experience they needed in order to be the servants God desired them to be.

Our life needs to be the example for others. Our experience needs to speak into the lives of the people we interact with. The way we handle frustrating situations, the way we handle our finances, the way we love each other through hardship, and every other aspect of our journey needs to reveal the experience we have in Christ. The Church was established by the men who experienced Jesus. The Church should continue moving forward and growing by people who have the same experience with the same Lord and Teacher.

There are struggles in life. There is going to be pain we go through. If we follow the direction of our Lord and Teacher, then a new way of living and understanding can be experienced through our actions. Our trials have purpose. They give us experience. We need to learn, grow, and serve through them. There might be someone who may need our experience later. Jesus’ disciples established the Church through their experience, we have the ability to move the Church forward through ours.