At The Heart Of Love Is Humility

​I led a 3-day experience last week helping people connect the experiences of their past with the reality of their present. The group became close. Connected.

At the end, I asked them why they thought our bonding had happened so powerfully.

A woman sitting right in front of me said, “Keith, you lead with such humility. It makes it easy to bond.”

It was some of the most meaningful feedback I’ve ever received. One, because there was a day when I would not have been recognized for humility. And two, because as a follower of Jesus Christ - a follower who longs to become more faithful every day - humility is at the core of that following.

Today is Maundy Thursday for those who observe Holy Week.

One of the historic moments remembered on this day is the Last Supper. In a week that mourns Christ dying on a cross and then celebrates his rising from the dead, a meaningful act from that dinner often gets overlooked.

Jesus had gathered his friends for a meal. Not a fancy dinner. Just a group of people around a table who had been doing life together.

It had been a long day. They were tired.

Something to know about that time - people walked everywhere. The roads were dusty and dirty. And they wore sandals. So when you showed up for dinner, your feet were… not great.

That’s why a prepared host would have someone there to wash your feet when you arrived. Not a glamorous job. More like a lowest-on-the-ladder type gig.

But there was no one assigned to do it that night. So everyone just ignored it. They sat down with dirty feet, pretending everything was fine, because no one was about to volunteer.

Then something happened. Jesus, the one they followed, the one they respected most, he stood up.

No speech. No announcement.

He took off his outer garment, grabbed a towel, poured water into a basin, and knelt down.

You can imagine the confusion in the room. What is he doing?

And then it became clear. He was washing their feet.

One of them protested, “Hey, no - you’re not doing this for me.”

And Jesus essentially responded, “If I don’t do this, you’re missing the point of everything I’ve been trying to show you.”

For years, I missed the point of that story. I heard it. I respected it. But I didn’t see it.

I didn’t understand what Jesus was trying to teach me about love. About leadership. About how we are meant to treat one another. I didn’t see how deeply he was trying to reach the most humble places in my heart.

And maybe we’re still missing it.

Because today, many of us are still sitting at tables with one another, pretending not to notice what needs to be done, waiting to see if someone else will go first.

Before the cross. Before the empty tomb. Jesus got on his knees and washed feet. And maybe, as much as we need to remember the cross and the resurrection, we need to remember that.

And go low enough to love the people right in front of us.