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For many years I have kept a journal of thoughts that have been inspired as I read God’s Word each day. These journals are simply a record of how God is teaching me in my life, as I have learned to “feed myself” spiritually.
In browsing through one of these journals recently, I thought it might be helpful to share some of these with you. Hopefully these truths that are based on Scripture will inspire you, but also I’m praying it will help you see how you can journal for yourself and how meaningful that can be to your life as you “grow up in Christ.” Each one begins with a passage or verse that has come from my daily reading:
John 13:3 – 5: Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he 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.
Jesus was totally secure with who he was. He was totally confident in his relationship with his Father. And he knew fully what his destiny was—why he was on earth. Because he was so fully assured of this, therefore he took the role of a servant.
It is difficult to be a servant if you have to prove who you are. If it is important for you to have praise and recognition from people, servanthood will not be your pursuit.
The person who is mature in his or her faith, who knows her position in Christ and is totally confident she is doing the Father’s will—that person will naturally be a servant to others.
If Jesus just meant we were to literally wash each other’s feet, frankly that would be easier than having a servant attitude all the time. It almost seems like a non-sequitur in this passage: Jesus knew who he was and therefore he became a servant. Servanthood is the result of having a true understanding of who we are in Christ and being truly humble as we recognize that it is only because of Christ that we can do or be anything worthwhile.