Personal Renewal: Had your feet washed lately?
by Stanley Inouye

Think back to the time you first became a Christian. What do you remember about your thoughts and feelings? If your experience was similar to mine, you probably felt a whole lot of enthusiasm and joy; you were full of life and purpose. You wanted to share your discovery of Christ with everyone.

Now think about your life now. When was the last time you witnessed to a friend, a family member, let alone someone you didn't know? If you're like me, it's been awhile.

Do you ever wonder what happened to "the good old days"? We all know that we should take an active part in evangelism. We know our Lord commands it. But we drag our feet. The guilt hangs over our heads. We make excuses.

The problem is common to most of us. And as I have thought about it, God has made it clear to me that as believers, we often have difficulty with evangelism because we misunderstand the necessity for personal renewal and its relationship to effective sharing. Our attitudes about God, his Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit often mislead us. And our cultural baggage many times hinders us from the fruitfulness and freedom our Lord desires us to experience. But Jesus, as always, had answers for us.

The thirteenth chapter of John's Gospel records Jesus washing the disciple's feet. I believe that this event provides insight into the relationship between evangelism and spiritual renewal. By looking at this portion of Scripture through Japanese eyes, I think that we can come to understand ourselves and our Lord better.

In verse 6, Peter is astonished that Jesus begins to wash his feet. He exclaims, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?," and later, "No, you shall never wash my feet" (Verse 8).

Now, Peter didn't intend to be disobedient. I believe that his response sprang from a deep sense of obligation, or what the Japanese refer to as on. His reluctance emerged out of a sense that he was the one who should be washing Jesus' feet.

Here, I believe that Peter was being very Japanese. He was enryo-ing. In essence, Peter was saying, "After all you've done for me, I should be the one doing this for you!"

In Japanese culture, Peter's reaction was consistent with one of two types of repayment for obligation. One is described as gimu and the other is giri. Giri is the most familiar to us, even to those of us who are third generation Japanese Americans who don't speak Japanese.

Giri involves a sort of "tit for tat" balancing of the relational scales. When someone gives you something or does something on your behalf, you are then obligated to return the favor in like measure. Many other cultures believe in the appropriateness of reciprocating in this way, but the Japanese are extreme in their sense of obligation for even the slightest favor. They are highly obligation-conscious.

Gimu, on the other hand, represents an on or degree of indebtedness so great that it can never be fully repaid, no matter how much is given in return. In Japanese culture, this type of obligation is epitomized by what one owes one's mother.

In Peter's case, I believe that his reply reflected this deeper sense of obligation. It was a reply of gimu rather than giri. In essence, Peter was telling Jesus, "Lord, even though I have eternity, I will never be able to repay you for what you have done for me, no matter what or how much I do for you in return."

Do you identify with Peter's response? Who could fault him for it? And yet, what was Jesus' reply to Peter? He told him, "Unless I wash you, you have no part of me." What a seemingly harsh answer to Peter's gracious, well-intended refusal.

However, as I studied the passage more, I came to realize that Jesus was simply and directly stating the meaning of what he was doing. I sense that there was no condemnation or irritation in his voice.

Well then, what was the meaning of Jesus' actions? I believe that Jesus was communicating to Peter that he could not have a relationship with him unless he allowed him to wash his feet.

After hearing Jesus tell him, "Unless I wash you, you can have no part of me," Peter jumped to the other extreme. He exclaimed, "Then, Lord, not just my feet, but my hands and head as well!"

In analyzing Peter's second response, I don't think that there was any change of attitude on his part. The same feeling motivated both of his responses, first to humbly refuse, and then to wholeheartedly accept Jesus' offer to wash his feet. Peter was willing to do whatever pleased Jesus the most. In no way did he want Jesus to get the impression that he didn't want to have a relationship with him.

Unfortunately, Peter was taking literally what Jesus meant figuratively. The symbolic nature of the Lord's words becomes evident when we read his response to Peter's overzealous desire to be doused all over. Jesus told him, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." The verse following says, "For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said that not every one was clean."

Through this incident, I believe that Jesus was telling his disciples that unless they were served by him, they could have "no part of him." In other words, they could not have a relationship with Jesus unless they allowed him to do something for and to them. Jesus' action on their behalf, symbolized by washing, enabled his followers to have a relationship with him and also made them "clean."

This passage in John points to two ways that people can be washed by Jesus. First, they can be "bathed" by him. And second, they can have their feet washed by him. Also, according to what Jesus said, those who have already been made "clean" and have a relationship with him, need not be bathed again. However, those in such a relationship evidently still get a bit "soiled," even after a bath. As a result, they need to occasionally have Jesus "wash their feet." One might refer to this type of cleansing as "spot cleaning."

What does all this mean for those of us who are Jesus' followers today? I believe that being bathed by Jesus represents conversion, entering into a new relationship with him and being forgiven and cleansed of our sins. He died on the cross for us. He rose and ascended into heaven to give his Spirit to us. Consequently, he can and chooses to have a new and personal relationship with us. Such a relationship enables him to do his work in and through us. And all of this takes place, not because we "bathe" ourselves, but rather, because of what Jesus does for and to us.

I believe that footwashing represents personal renewal. It represents the need of a person who already has a relationship with Jesus to renew it over and over again. Both conversion and renewal involve being "washed" and "cleansed" by Jesus. One is to establish the relationship, and the other is to keep it healthy.

Another way to look at the relationship between conversion and personal renewal is to see them as evangelization and reevangelization. Whether we accept Jesus Christ for the first time or revitalize an already existing relationship with him, what needs to take place in the life of the believer is very similar. Both involve realizing who God in Christ is in relationship to who we are. Both require repentance, being convicted, and agreeing with God about the ways we fall short of all that he intends us to be. Both result in reconciliation between ourselves and God. And both involve receiving a new capacity through Christ's Spirit to relate to God and to do his will.

The only major difference between what happens at the point of conversion versus renewal is with reference to the Holy Spirit. A person becomes a Christian by accepting Jesus into his or her life in the person of the Holy Spirit. Once the individual is indwelt by the Spirit of Christ, indwelling is never necessary again. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is part of the bathing process which Jesus told Peter need not be repeated

However, what is in need of repeating is referred to in Ephesians 5:18: "Do not get drunk with wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead be filled with the Holy Spirit." Filling is done over and over again.

The difference between the Christian who is "filled with the Holy Spirit," and the one who is not, deals with control. Both have been permanently indwelt by the Spirit of God. However, one is being controlled by self from outside forces other than the Holy Spirit, such as the scriptural example of wine. The other is controlled by a power other than self, a power that was outside but is now inside, the very Spirit of Christ himself.

In other words, allowing the Lord to control us is a function of being filled with the Holy Spirit. It means letting go of control to allow Christ to serve us and to use us as he chooses. Rather than giving to God by giving to others, the focus is on receiving from God in order to give to others. The incident in John teaches us that Jesus must first serve us before we can serve him and his world.

If it is true that we are to allow Jesus to serve us before we can serve others, then when was the last time you or I let him wash our feet? Or have we been like Peter, enryo-ing, telling our Lord that he's already done enough for us?

As Japanese, we have the common problem of feeling obligated to God. Our gimu orientation compels us to serve God by serving others. After all, he sent his Son to die on a cross for us. How can we ask anything more of him? So, with good motives and intentions, and a sincere desire to please him, we attempt to serve him by our own effort.

However, Isaiah 57 tells us that God will speak, saying, "I will expose your righteousness and your works and they will not benefit you." It says that he will expose, not our sins, but our good works! To say "no" to Jesus' footwashing, like Peter did initially, is to disobey. No matter how food or pure our reasons for refusal, to say "no" is to sin. The only way to truly serve God is to allow God to serve us. Even though it sounds so unjapanese.

But that's what footwashing is all about. When we receive Christ into our lives, we are bathed, made clean. When we come before the Lord to have him wash our feet, we receive his Spirit anew. We are filled with none other than Christ's own Spirit. We become refreshed, renewed, re-energized. And as that happens, we are able to be true servants of God. We are able to go forth as messengers, evangelizing others.

In Japanese culture, the only way to reciprocate in a situation in which there is a gimu type of obligation, is to share with others what you have experienced. For example, trying to raise children well is a way to repay our own parents for the love that we have received from them. In the same way, we can never repay the love of Jesus, but we can show our gratitude by sharing it with others.

Psalm 51 gives a wonderful example of the relationship between renewal and evangelism:

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.

This passage can be seen as one about footwashing. The psalmist sees his need for a renewed spirit and the presence of the Holy Spirit. As he prays, "Restore to me the joy of your salvation," he is touching on what I referred to as reevangelization. And he knows that through God ministering to him, he will then be able to teach transgressors and sinners. He will be empowered to do what we call evangelism.

Given the need for footwashing, how often do we need to engage in it? I think as often as is necessary for us to maintain a growing relationship with our Lord. Frequent footwashing helps remind us from where our strength comes, and by whose power we serve. It keeps our perspective on who we are in Christ and our focus on our relationship with him. And it keeps us under his grace: we recognize that only by allowing the Lord to fill us with his Spirit over and over again, are we truly useful to God.

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