Example

“for I gave you an example that you should also do as I did to you.”  John 13:15

Example – How many times have you searched all over to find something and then discovered that it was in plain sight all the time?  My wife often remarks that when I go to the refrigerator to look for something she needs for cooking, my eyes just don’t see what should be obvious.  I say, “I can’t find it.”  She responds, “It’s right in front of your face.  See!” and with one finger she directs my attention to the very thing I was trying to find.  Having the ability to see does not mean that we actually take in the image and understand it.

Jesus knew that it took deliberate, tangible expressions of love in order to communicate.  By washing the feet of the disciples, Jesus pointed to something that they should have seen easily enough but they were not ready to understand.  God’s love is expressed in humility and service.  The Greek word here has the sense of setting something plainly in view.  But it also communicates something else.  Hupodeigma comes from hupo and deiknuo.  Hupo means “under or beneath”.  Deiknuo means “to point out, to cause to see”.  The idea is to put something under scrutiny in a way that will cause understanding.  But isn’t it interesting that the very word used for “example” begins with the thought of “putting under” – an image of humility. 

If we are going to be living pointers to God’s love, we will have to take actions in life that open the eyes of others.  These are not ambiguous or concealed behaviors.  They are deliberate, open expressions of humility and service.  They need to be the kind of actions that cause others to say,  “Did you see what he did?” or “Look at her!”  The kind of actions that caused the people of Jesus’ day to glorify God.  Stop sign actions.

Christians who live according to Jesus’ example put God in plain sight.  They point to His care and His character by what they do.  Seeing what they do means that the presence of God can’t be missed.

And it all begins with “under”.