1 Cor. 14:26 What then, brothers? Whenever you come together, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. Col. 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to God.
A brother once attended a preaching meeting. When he came in, he felt very dejected. Were there any particularly bothersome matters? No. Yet he could not lift up his spirit. He began to pray, "Lord, I need the supply of life!" Later, another brother prayed, and his prayer supplied the dejected brother, who then brightened up. This is washing one another's feet. If anyone comes to the meeting in a passive way and does not care for anything but simply sits there without expecting anything to happen or helping anyone, he is not washing others' feet. To wash one another's feet means that we want to help others when we come to a meeting and that we want others to receive benefit. Sometimes we really feel we are short of strength, and our spirit can hardly be lifted up. At these times, we can open ourselves to the brothers and sisters to wash our feet, cause us to touch God, and render us spiritual help. But we must be careful not to always bring a burden to the meeting. Whether or not a meeting is worthwhile before the Lord and whether or not one touches life depends on whether there is more life or more burden. This responsibility rests on every brother and sister. If many spirits are open, the meeting will have no problem at all, and many will spontaneously be revitalized spiritually. But if too many people sit back in a cold way, the meeting will become too hard to bear. Passivity is the heaviest burden to a church. No one can come to the meeting without praying or preparing for it. Everyone should pray and spend time before the Lord. Everyone should render help to the meeting with life. In the church meetings we should help one another, and then we will all be helped. To help one another is to wash one another's feet.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Watchman Nee, General Messages, Vol. 37, in The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, pp. 108-109. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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