Your Last Night on Earth

I gently washed the blood off of her. She looked up at me, embarrassed. “I bet you hate this part of your job,” she said, “Giving birth isn’t very glamorous.”

I smiled at her as I decided to let her in on my secret. “Actually, I love this part of my job. Every time I do it, I think of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet. If Jesus could wash the disciples’ feet, then I can certainly wash some bloody bottoms!”

My patient laughed and began to relax. “Well, that’s a different way of thinking about it.”

I wanted to say, “Yes. Jesus makes us different,” but I just silently continued the task that I’ve probably done over 20,000 times throughout the 36 years of my nursing career. That’s over 20,000 times of thinking about Jesus and His lesson on humility and service. 

But my pastor Rob Mullins made a point recently regarding this portion of scripture that I had never even considered before. His point was this:

If you knew you were about to die…that it was your last day on this earth…how would you spend it?

I would probably spend it having fun with family and friends. Most people don’t know when that day will be. But Jesus knew it was His last night on earth. And Jesus spent it serving others. He didn’t spend it preaching. He didn’t even spend it healing. Knowing He was at His appointed time to die, Jesus spent His time washing the feet of His disciples. Serving others with humility is so high on His priority list, that He spent His last night on earth teaching the disciples how to serve with humility and setting an example for them to follow. 

And that’s why I love that part of my job. Jesus thinks it is important. Am I willing to serve others even when the act of service is something that some people may deem as unpleasant? Jesus did. Washing dirty, stinky feet. Ponder the thought for a moment. The Almighty One performing an act of service that others would find degrading. A strong statement about humility. About others before self. About love. 

Another way to serve others is to love them when they aren’t very easy to love. I have had patients who were dubbed as “difficult” by hospital staff because they were hostile and seemed to hate everyone. Instead of dreading caring for them, I like to look at them as my personal challenge for the day! It makes my day if I can get a smile out of them, a little lowering of the wall they have built. I want to show them the unconditional love of Christ, who loves them at their most unlovable. Christ loved me when I didn’t love Him. I want to love others with this kind of love. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us,” (Romans 5:8).

Nursing isn’t the only way to serve others. You don’t even have to be in a “service” profession to serve others. I recently hired a man to do pressure washing for me who was so nice and helpful that I felt as if I had gained a new friend. He truly served me by doing an “above and beyond job,” and we began to talk about Jesus together. When he left, I felt uplifted and encouraged spiritually. What a testimony this man has to be able to do that, not as a pastor or teacher, but as a pressure washer! Shout out to Josh at 901 pressure washing!

How can you serve a stranger today? How can you serve your family and friends? It isn’t the task that matters. It is the attitude of our hearts. We can perform amazing sacrificial acts of service and still not glorify God if we do it with the wrong attitude. But with the attitude of Christ, to humbly serve in love brings glory to God and immeasurable joy to our hearts. 

To spend our last day on earth as Jesus did…not knowing when that day will be…perhaps we should begin to serve like this today. How can you approach others with the attitude of Christ in all of your interactions today?

“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant.” Philippians 2:6,7