A Devotion from Charles Spurgeon

“He began to wash the disciples’ feet.” —John 13:5

The Lord Jesus loves his people so much, that every day he is still doing for them much that is

analogous to washing their soiled feet. Their poorest actions he accepts; their deepest sorrow

he feels; their slenderest wish he hears, and their every transgression he forgives. He is still

their servant as well as their Friend and Master. He not only performs majestic deeds for them,

as wearing the mitre on his brow, and the precious jewels glittering on his breastplate, and

standing up to plead for them, but humbly, patiently, he yet goes about among his people with

the basin and the towel. He does this when he puts away from us day by day our constant

infirmities and sins. Last night, when you bowed the knee, you mournfully confessed that much

of your conduct was not worthy of your profession; and even tonight, you must mourn afresh

that you have fallen again into the selfsame folly and sin from which special grace delivered you

long ago; and yet Jesus will have great patience with you; he will hear your confession of sin; he

will say, “I will, be thou clean”; he will again apply the blood of sprinkling, and speak peace to

your conscience, and remove every spot. It is a great act of eternal love when Christ once for all

absolves the sinner, and puts him into the family of God; but what condescending patience

there is when the Saviour with much long-suffering bears the oft recurring follies of his

wayward disciple; day by day, and hour by hour, washing away the multiplied transgressions of

his erring but yet beloved child! To dry up a flood of rebellion is something marvellous, but to

endure the constant dropping of repeated offences—to bear with a perpetual trying of

patience, this is divine indeed! While we find comfort and peace in our Lord’s daily cleansing, its

legitimate influence upon us will be to increase our watchfulness, and quicken our desire for

holiness. Is it so?