last day on earth

(Jesus) got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
~ John 13:4-5

If you’re like me, you’ve played the mental “what if” game, letting your mind range from the ridiculous (What if I were elected President of the United States?) to the sublime (What if I were to spend some of my retirement years on a tropical island?). And perhaps you have also pondered the sobering thought, “What if I knew I had less than 24 hours to live?”

Though it is hard to truly predict what I might do, the first thing that comes to my mind is that I would gather with my family and closest friends. I would want to be surrounded by their loving faces and warm embraces, sharing strong words of our confident hope that we would see each other again in eternity.

This is exactly what Jesus did on that final Thursday of his earthly life. He gathered with his disciples in the upper room, shared a memorable meal together with them, and gave them the comforting words that he would come back and take them to a special place he would prepare for them. But at that meal, knowing full well that it was his last evening on earth, Jesus took his actions beyond comforting words—he knelt down and washed his disciples' feet.

What an amazing God we worship! What wondrous love he has shown us! With less than 24 hours to live, Jesus demonstrated the simple power of extreme humility. May our hearts be strengthened to follow his powerful example every day.

~ Cheryl Boydston