Footwashing and being cleansed ..

I spent the day yesterday chatting with some pals and posting some stuff online about Jesus washing the disciples feet. I just had some thoughts to pass on this morning. What was the truth that Jesus would have us grasp of footwashing one for another?

Regarding Jesus' conversation with Peter, and then the command to also WASH one another's feet. That they were clean everywhere, except their feet. Jesus said if Peter wouldn't let Him wash his feet, ..that Peter had no part of Him "Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me." John 13:8 Why was Peter saying that, I think Peter was still responding to the idea of his day that footwashing was a humiliating experience and peers didn't do that for one another ... Peter was still thinking in terms of the established spoken and unspoken rules and traditions of his day.

What part of Jesus are we after ? We are after intimacy, we are after His heart, we are after longing for him and wanting Him in our ever thought, every song and all that we are. My thought is that we (like the disciples) are washed and cleansed by Him, as Jesus said was true, (you are already washed) but the only part that needs continual cleansing is our FEET. Why, what does our feet symbolize?

Our feet are the part of our spirituality that we need to be consciously and carefully aware of - the day to day realities and issues of life. Our intimacy with God is so wonderful yet so easily disrupted by our day to day sin. To keep following Him, sharing love with Him, we need to see how our heart is responding day to day in our interactions with others. To do this, we need one, two or, ! wow! three (blessed if you have three) brothers/sisters who can carefully and sensitively 'wash our feet' (ie help us out in that regard ) Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash [his] feet .... The point is to be His entirely and continually, we all need to have our "feet" washed and continue onward in our journey of Him.

If we really love one another, we will want to do this for one another, we will want to facilitate the washing away of the grime of everyday stuff. In that process, we will be like He was .. we won't care what the established church order of the day would tell us or lead us to believe, how footwashing should or shouldn't be done, what kind of service facilitates footwashing. We will be more in tune with where He is leading us, to be like Him and to do for others and have others do for us. WE will recognize the need to have our feet washed, as much as we would be available and heart-ready to recognize someone else's need to 'wash their feet' as well. * *Notice how if Peter would have relied on the established protocols of his day in regard to footwashing, he would not have been able to have any part of Jesus ... Jesus said if he didn't wash his feet, he would have no part of him. We have got to get beyond what the religious mindset tells us if we want to have the depth of His heart to us and in us...**

I hope this made a little sense :-) I am trying to grasp what His heart is....