"The
Basin and the Towel"
*
by Lauri Krentz
The concept of community has been on my mind lately, in part because of our brothers ands sisters from MMAP who are here at Buffalo Ridge, helping us with a construction project. They are a wonderful example of Christian community. Not only are they here to help with the physical labor of putting up a building, they are doing so much more: they are loving us, encouraging us, supporting us, praying for us, and building us up in the faith. What a blessing!
True community and servanthood are intricately tied together. Servanthood does not just involve serving Jesus, but it involves serving one another. Community is "loving your neighbor as yourself." The Scripture is full of helpful instruction on how we are to relate to one another as part of the Body of Christ; part of God’s community.
". . . lead a life worthy of the calling with which your were called . . . with complete humility and meekness (unselfishness, gentleness, mildness), with patience, bearing with one another. . . strive earnestly to guard and keep the harmony and oneness produced by the Spirit in the binding power of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3, Amplified) This love of which I speak is slow to lose patience . . . it is not possessive: it is neither anxious to impress nor does it cherish inflated ideas of its own importance. Love has good manners and does not pursue selfish advantage. It is not touchy. It does not keep account of evil . . . Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope. (I Corinthians 13, Phillips) Let your love be sincere — a real thing . . . Love one another with brotherly affection — as members of one family — giving precedence and showing honor to one another. . . be aglow and burning with the Spirit, serving the Lord . . . contribute to the needs of God’s people . . . pursuing the practice of hospitality. . . Share other’s joy . . . and share others’ grief . . . Live in harmony with one another . . . If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." (Romans 12:9-18, Amplified)
One thing that is clear is that community is achieved through humility. As we serve the Lord, and one another — community is born. One of Michael Card’s most profound songs deals with the issue of community and its relationship to servanthood. The Scriptural text for the song is John 13 where Jesus washes the disciples feet.
"In
an upstairs room
A parable is just about to come alive.
And while they bicker about who’s best
With a painful glance He’ll silently rise.
Their Savior Servant must show them how
Through the will of the water
And the tenderness of the towel." *
"Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." Matthew 20:29
Jesus defines servanthood. He was and is our Servant King. He demonstrated the epitome of Christian community when He gave Himself on the cross for us. Servanthood is an exercise of the will. We are not forced to serve one another, it is an act of obedience.
"And
the call is to community,
The impoverished power that sets the soul free.
In humility to take the vow,
That day after day we must take up
The basin and the towel." *
The Christian life is seemingly full of paradox. To the world, a phrase like "impoverished power" seems ludicrous. But Believers understand that true power comes from abandoning oneself to God. It is only then that His power can work through us to accomplish things we couldn’t begin to imagine. Serving others involves putting another’s well being before my own. It is giving grace, appreciating the strengths, and being willing to work with the weaknesses. It is honoring and respecting one other, and being willing to be real with each another. Servanthood is to love, edify, build up, support, listen, share, and pray for each other.
"And
the space between ourselves sometimes
Is more than the distance between the stars.
By the fragile bridge of the servant’s bow
We take up the basin and the towel. *
Before we can share one another’s hurts and struggles, triumphs and dreams, we have to know each other. To know each other we have to spend quality time together. We must be willing to expose ourselves, warts and all. Too often we are reluctant for others to know our weaknesses. Community requires being vulnerable. It means humbling ourselves and not only washing someone else’s "dirty feet" but being willing to let others wash ours. Community means forgiving one another without bitterness, and without any residue of a grudge. Community is giving the other the benefit of the doubt, being slow to speak, quick to listen. To be a community, we must be an intrinsic part of each others lives.
When Believers are functioning as a unified Body, a bridge can be built to our "neighbors" around us who do not know the Savior. When a lost world sees servanthood and unity among Christians, they are drawn and want to know more. Unfortunately many times the world doesn’t see any difference when it looks at the Body of Christ. There can be as much distance and alienation among God’s people as there is in the world. What the Christian church needs today is to get reconnected as a Body, so we can function as God intended. That alone will draw people to Jesus.
Another reason I have been thinking about the concept of Christian community is because our prayer is that when guests leave Buffalo Ridge they will have been touched by God’s community. We pray they have been encouraged, refreshed, and challenged as a result of spending time together with other Believers.
For myself, I pray that the Lord will show me anything in my life that would hinder me from being a true part of His community. I pray He roots out anything that is displeasing to Him because I want to be effective for Him! And the wonderful thing is that He is faithfully patient in making me more like Him. All He requires is a willing, obedient heart, and I pray for that!
Excerpted from the song, The Basin and the Towel, written by Michael Card from his album, Poi!ma The Sparrow Corporation, P.O. Box 5010, Brentwood, TN 37024.