Some of us are very respectable Christians; by that I mean we put on a holy veneer. When I ask fellow Christians, ‘How are you.’ The reply I often get is, ‘I’m fine.’ Yet I know that they’re not actually fine. I realise that like myself they have problems. Some of their troubles I might know about and others i don’t. I wonder why we Christians have this veneer of respectability.’ Even as Christians we can’t always cope.
We can’t treat God in that way. He knows all about the ‘un-fine’ parts of our lives. He knows things about us that we could never share with anyone. It’s not possible to hide anything from Him. He even knows what we’re going to say ‘before a word is on our lips.’ How much more knowing is it possible to be? There is no point in being respectable with God.
Then comes the wonderful part. He knows all the bad parts about us and yet still loves us unconditionally. Although we weren’t with the disciples in Biblical times Jesus still washes our feet today. Metaphorically speaking , our feet are dirty and scarred, having trudged through the filth, deceit and lies of this world. There is nothing to commend us to God, yet His love for us is infinite. We have all walked places we should not have been. None of this lessens His love. So like Peter, we can say,’ Not only my feet but my whole body.’