Feet

I have been married for almost two years and supposedly we are still in the romantic phase of marriage. In the romantic phase you are willing to do most anything for your spouse. Back rubs, cuddling, sharing your ice cream, and getting up in the middle of the night to help them when they are sick. Ethan and I have done all of these and much more, but what we don't do is wash each other's feet. Not only will we not wash them but we also won't touch them. Something about feet just bothers people down to the core. They are gross. Even the ones that get pedicures and are perfectly clean; they are still gross to us. I have only received one foot rub from Ethan and it was before we were even engaged. I think he did it just hoping I'd keep dating him. Now when I ask the most common answer is "maybe some other time", meaning never. If I ever do receive another, guarantee he will make me put a sock on so he isn't touching my foot. Now we are married, we love each other down to the bone, and we are still not willing to do this. Yet, there once was a woman who not only touched Jesus' feet but washed them with her tears, wiped them with alabaster oil, and dried them with her hair.

Luke 7: 36-38

      36 "Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. 37 And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, 38 and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil."

If you continue through the passage you will see that this woman was not someone special but rather by the language of the passage either promiscuous or a prostitute. People recognized her name with her profession and she was not one to have over for Sunday brunch. However, she unlike many of the people Jesus spoke to, truly loved Him. Weeping when she saw Him, she knew that only through His mercy, He could change her life. She washed His feet with an oil that cost most likely a year's wages. Can you imagine buying something for your spouse that cost one year of wages and you used the entire object in five maybe ten minutes? 

      Luke 12:34

            34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

This woman placed all of her treasure on Jesus' feet. She showed Him the abundance of love unlike any other. When we picture Jesus we see a man who is glowing and perfectly clean. Jesus was not perfectly clean. His feet were dirty. He walked in the dust and mud and anything else on the road with sandals. His feet were covered with little pebbles and twigs and she wiped them with her hair. After she had finished worshiping Him, she didn't rush home to wash her hair of the thistles or wipe her hands clean. No she walked with the abundance of peace in her life and the knowledge that her hair now smelled like Jesus. 

This woman may have been the lowest of society but on that day she became a princess in heaven.  If you want to know what serving your spouse should look like, she demonstrated it to the fullest. She placed everything she had in Jesus, trusted Him with her whole heart. Isn't the goal as Christians to be more like Jesus? He washed his disciples feet. We should be willing to humble ourselves to serve our spouse in every way. Next time you read this passage don't look at the fact that she was a sinner but how she demonstrates love and humility.