Mind if I wash your feet?

Every time a track meet comes around, memories of my past throws (shot put and discus) come rushing back into my mind—all of the times I’ve choked or have failed to do my best. I’m so anxious about how I need to make up for my short comings of the last meet that I never truly enjoy competing. Shame of the past always seems to bring me down.

Every year, my church holds a service on Maundy Thursday in which you are able to get your feet washed in a ceremony that resembles what Jesus did for the disciples at the Last Supper. This year, when it was time to come up to the front of the church to get my feet washed, I realized I’d walked around without shoes multiple times that day. There was no way I was going to let anyone touch my grimy feet! It would have turned the whole water bowl completely brown! But as I thought about how dirty my feet were, God interrupted my anxious thoughts. And I think this might have been one of the issues He was trying to get at with His own disciples.

Peter didn’t want Jesus touching his feet. That was probably the dirtiest part of his body, and he wouldn’t let anyone—let alone his leader—touch his feet! But I thought about what Jesus said: "If I don't wash you, you have no part with Me." This might be different than what is usually thought about this passage, but when Jesus was washing the dirtiest part of their bodies, I imagined Him washing away the dirtiest sins and how we need to be totally forgiven to be clean to Christ. That Thursday, I was humiliated that my feet were so dirty, but I realized that we all have sins we’re almost too ashamed to even tell Christ. Many of us have one of “those” sins—one that we just can’t let go of. Saying, “Nope. Jesus, You can take my lying, cheating, my [insert sin here], but this one is just too bad. Sorry, but nope.” It might be that time when you were looking at something on the Internet, that time you sneaked out of the house, or the time you just disappointed your parents too much. But Easter reminds us that we can tell Him our sins without shame. He can wash away even the dirtiest of sins!

I’ve come to realize that when we’re able to let go of ALL of our sins and confess them to Him, we’re able to live life without regrets. This thought smacked me in the face regarding my nerves during track. Every time I go to a meet, I have a chance to start afresh and compete at my best. Christ reminded me that I can forget about those times when my nerves took over and was paralyzed from giving my all in competition. Now, I can be truly free and forgiven of past regrets.

On the day after Easter, when His resurrection is still fresh in our minds, take the opportunity to confess ALL of your sins—even your darkest sins—to Him and let them go. Hand them over to God and understand the true feeling of being totally forgiven!