As a memento of a retreat I attended, I was given a small towel with a hand-stitched design symbolizing Jesus washing His disciples' feet. That towel served mostly as a decoration for a few years until one of my daughters accidentally used it to clean the car. The commemorative towel has been scrubbed with stain remover and sent through the washer, but it's indelibly marked by grease and grime.

At first I was miffed at having my memento used to wash hubcaps and bumpers. But then I began to see that towel as a picture of myself, and it caused me to ask some questions. When it comes to serving others, do I reserve myself for special occasions instead of doing an ordinary job today? When Jesus washed and wiped His disciples' feet, didn't His towel get dirty? What's a towel for--decoration or demonstration?

Jesus said, "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet" (Jn. 13:14).

My little towel now serves as a reminder that self-preservation will keep me untouched but completely useless in my service for Christ. Real servants get dirty every day.  — David C. McCasland