The Upside-down Mountain of Blessings; Part 2
Picture a candle-lit upper room at dusk on the night before the crucifixion. The air is heavy with tension, and the disciples are doing what human beings always do when they are insecure: arguing about who among them is the greatest and therefore deserves the seat of honor nearest the Messiah.
Suddenly, the room falls dead silent. Everyone turns toward the front of the table where YahShua has pushed aside His plate of bread and the cups of covenant He had just taught about.
Silently, The Rabbi stands up and ties a towel around His waist. The others watch as He pours water into a basin and lowers it to the floor. He kneels before the first disciple to wash his dirty, dust-covered feet. And then He washes the feet of the next one, and the next. These are moments of profound beauty—and total theological panic. The stunned disciples submit to their Master, but it all feels upside-down to them.
When YahShua gets to Peter, the tough fisherman recoils in flat-out refusal. Even though YahShua had just stated He was there to serve them, Peter’s religious training told him that followers serve the Master, not the other way around.
“But it’s me who should be washing Your feet,” Peter exclaims!
YahShua looks up at Peter from the floor. In a loving moment of warning, He reminds him that without submitting to Him as a servant, Peter will have no part with Him.
Now Peter swings the pendulum the other way requesting for his Master to wash him head to toe. It’s a beautiful way for Peter to state that he is sold out to The Messiah and is fully committed to His ministry. We know that commitment will be tested within the next couple days, and Peter will fail, but it won’t be the end of his ministry.
YahShua has seen the future denials, but He has also seen the future. In Mark 16:7, He sends an angel to specifically include him: “go tell the disciples and Peter” to meet Him in Galilee.
Mark 16:7 BSB
[7] But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.’”
https://bible.com/bible/3034/mrk.16.7.BSB
This story of deep messages and lessons across the dinner table is shared in all four gospels, though not all parts are in each rendition. Still, for quick reference to read these yourself, check out these links at Bible Hub where you can read a variety of Bible translations and even put them in parallel.
Matthew 26... https://biblehub.com/bsb/matthew/26.htm
Mark 14... https://biblehub.com/bsb/mark/14.htm
Luke 22... https://biblehub.com/bsb/luke/22.htm
John 13... https://biblehub.com/bsb/john/13.htm
My introduction to this upside-down view of YahShua came during a recent Bible study in the YouVersion app. It’s called “Daily Encouragement,” and it’s a year-long study of 366 devotions written by a lifelong missionary. On Day 207, the devotion covers the verse in Mark 10:45 (“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”) Then he gives a quote from Bible teacher P.T. Forsyth that really got to me:
“Christ came not to be ministered to but to minister, and our first duty therefore is to be ministered to by him.”
From Peter’s experience and this quote, I’m trying to look at how letting Christ serve me is an act of obedience.
In the devotion, the missionary mentions some of the words to describe God like Comforter, Shepherd, Helper, Keeper, High Priest, Husband, and Father. All of these words show actions in service to us. If we ask Him for comfort, and then we actually let Him comfort us, we are submitting to His service toward us. The same when we ask Him to save us, deliver us, or heal us.
Going back to yesterday’s thoughts in Part 1, it’s not about being the perfect performer to earn His blessings. The upside-down reality is that while He is the Master, submission and obedience to Him means receiving what He offers us.
If you are a follower of Christ, you took that first step of obedience by submitting to the mercy and grace found in His blood, allowing Him to wash your sins away just as He washed Peter’s feet. It didn’t elevate you above your Master or make you perfect any more than it did Peter, but it did prove that obedience given out of trust and love is the very definition of redemption.
That submission to salvation is the first step of many. But if you’re like me, your next steps took all the responsibility onto your own shoulders as you struggled to please The Lord (and maybe a few preachers) with flawless performance. You forgot—or maybe weren’t taught—you had stepped into a submission of receiving from The King of Kings Himself, the One who declared Himself your servant.
True Christian obedience doesn’t begin with a checklist of things we do for God; it begins with the vulnerability of opening our hands and letting YahShua (Jesus) minister to us through His salvation, healing, and comfort. Asking, seeking, and knocking (Matthew 7;7) isn’t an act of begging a distant deity—it is the posture of a child receiving from a good Father.
But here is where the pendulum usually swings to the opposite extreme. If the Christian life is entirely about passively receiving the grace and service of Christ, does that mean our actual behavior doesn’t matter? Can we just claim mercy and live however we want?
In Part 3, we are going to look at how to stop the pendulum from swinging between legalism and laziness, and discover what it truly means to build a life on the only Rock that stands firm when the storms hit.
Note: Parts of this study (and a few of the words) were assisted by Google Gemini, alongside website studies at Bible Hub and Got Questions, but I’ve edited and personalized all of it before publishing.
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Prompt Response: That Printer of Udell’s by Harold Bell Wright
What’s a book that completely surprised you?
The 1902 Novel That Totally Surprised Me (…And Ronald Reagan)
It’s a book written over a century ago, in 1902, by Harold Bell Wright called “That Printer of Udell’s,” but don’t let its age dissuade you from giving it a chance.
I wasn’t actually looking for the book, or any book, when I came across this. I was in the “World’s Largest Toy Museum” in Branson, Missouri, and a part of it includes the “Harold Bell Wright Museum.” I’d never even heard of the man or any of his books, but I quickly found out that The Shepherd of The Hills references in that area were based on one of Bell’s books by the same name. I left with a few books, including That Printer of Udell’s (this links to the free online download at “Project Gutenberg”) recommended by the store proprietor.
Going into it, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Beyond occasionally trying to comprehend some of the thick, old-fashioned “hillbilly” dialects of the region used at the beginning of the book, I was hooked within a couple of chapters. And I was amazed by how deeply this story resonated with me.
What’s it about, you ask? The story is set in the busy, sometimes harsh Midwestern town of Boyd City. It follows the main character Dick Falkner, a young man who has survived a brutal childhood; complete with an alcoholic father, wild yet motherly “madams” for the boy’s babysitters and landlords, and extreme poverty. Dick travels to the city in search of a fresh start, only to face starvation and unemployment no matter how hard he’s willing to work. Worse, the cold indifference of the local church congregations is hard on his spirit as well as his body.
Just as he’s ready to give up, he is hired by George Udell, a kind-hearted printer who’s willing to give him a chance as an apprentice. Through this turning point, Dick encounters real Christianity—not the hypocritical kind he saw from afar, but a faith lived out through kindness, love, and public service. Dick’s later transformation ripples through the entire community.
What surprised me most about this book was its spiritual depth and how it could apply just as well in 2026 and beyond. It beautifully demonstrates the fantastic life changes that happen when a person shifts from mere self-reliance and survivorship to allowing God to set the moral compass and direction of their life. Dick goes from a man just trying to endure day-to-day to a man with an unshakeable purpose driven by The Lord. It’s a powerful reminder that we weren’t meant to carry the weight of the world only on our own shoulders.
As it turns out, I’m not the only one who was deeply impacted by this book. A young boy in Illinois read That Printer of Udell’s at just 11 years of age, and it altered the course of his entire life. That boy was Ronald Reagan.
In the museum, they have the letter where Reagan later stated that the book left an indelible impression on him, shaping his own faith and his view of human nature. He even said that Dick Falkner became a role model for him, inspiring him to become a person who fights for what is right. If a turn-of-the-century novel could help shape a future president, you know there is something powerful in the story.
If you are looking for a story that is inspiring and historically fascinating, and one that will challenge your own Christian walk in the best way possible, I highly encourage you to click the link above to download a free copy in your favorite format. Project Gutenberg offers many options, including Kindle. But you can also check Amazon or other bookstores for print copies. Either way, I highly recommend the read. Push past the dated dialect at the beginning, and I promise you will find a timeless message of grace and the power of a changed life. It will challenge how you see both “sinners” and “saints” in your life.
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Love is…
Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Never having to say your sorry?
Do you remember the popular saying which grew from the tag line to the Love Story movie? For me, this was playing out in a chaotic part of life complete with teenage angst. I’m not sure any teen likes to admit defeat or say sorry since they mostly feel they are always right. But something about this statement always bothered me. Apparently, I wasn’t alone.
In 1970, an Australian artist named Kim Casali was drawing adorable little characters surrounded by hearts and proclaiming many statements about what “love is…” based on her real feelings for the true love of her life. She changed the movie quote to say, “Love is… Being able to say you’re sorry.” I agree, and I was fascinated by her story and the baby she had by her husband 17 months after his death. Read it on Wikipedia if you want to know more.
Because love is far more than a few words, or even a world full of books, there’s no way to put all of what love is into a single blog post. I can tell you that in the parts of speech, love can be a noun, a verb (that definition became a book series), or an adjective as in love language (which also became at least one book), but it’s so much more than speech. I can tell you about what love is in my own life, but that would take far more than one story. So, I decided to ask Gemini for 10 examples of what “love is” from Bible Scripture. Here are the statements it came up with along with Scripture references. I added links to the Bible.com site (or app if you have it) from the World English Bible (WEB US)….
* Love is patient and kind. It doesn’t rush to judgment and responds to harshness with gentleness. (1 Corinthians 13:4)
* Love is sacrificial. It is defined by the willingness to lay down one’s own life or interests for the sake of another. (John 15:13)
* Love is an action, not just a feeling. It is expressed through “deed and truth” rather than just words or speech. (1 John 3:18)
* Love is the fulfillment of the law. When we love our neighbors as ourselves, we naturally uphold all other moral commands. (Romans 13:10)
* Love is the “perfect bond of unity.” It acts as the glue that holds a community or relationship together in harmony. (Colossians 3:14)
* Love is the evidence of knowing God. Because “God is love,” those who truly know Him will reflect His character by loving others. (1 John 4:7–8)
* Love is not self-seeking. It does not insist on its own way or demand its own rights above the needs of others. (1 Corinthians 13:5)
* Love is a choice to forgive. It does not keep a “record of wrongs” but chooses to move forward in grace. (1 Corinthians 13:5)
* Love is courageous. It casts out fear, allowing us to be vulnerable and honest without the dread of punishment. (1 John 4:18)
* Love is eternal. While other gifts and seasons pass away, the value and impact of love never ends. (1 Corinthians 13:8)
My challenge to you readers is to come up with your own, personalized, list of what love is. You might say something like, “Love is my husband making me the perfect scrambled egg breakfast with green peppers, tomato, onion, and goat cheese.” Yes, my hubby really does that, and I taste the love he thinks he’s adding without my seeing it. 😁 Put your list on pretty paper to remind yourself of the love you hold on the days when it’s hard to remember. And never forget that God’s Holy Word is His love letter to us and that every good and perfect gift is love coming from Him.
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