Inconceivable!

 

The Princess Bride is one of my favourite films and quite a cult classic. There are a lot of brilliant quotes in it and one is on the word "Inconceivable". Vizzini, played by Wallace Shawn, uses the word often and at one point the Spaniard Inigo Montoya, played by Mandy Patinkin, says; "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." In this blog I want to look at words and make us think, do we know what it means.

We all have own understanding of words which we have learnt from our environment, for example the word 'pants' in the UK refer to underwear where as in America it means jeans or similar over garments (we call the trousers in the UK!). Or, for some, the word can be about something that's not so good. e.g. "that's a bit pants!".

So I want to look at the word "Lord", as used in the Bible specifically by Jesus. When we hear the word Lord we have our preconceived understanding of what that means. In the UK we have many Lords and so we maybe think of those with the title as special in some way. There is also the saying "lording it over someone", which gives the idea of controlling someone. Even when we look up the word in the dictionary it says "a person who has authority, control, or power over others".

In John 13 Jesus washes the disciples feet and then asks them if they understand what he has just done. At that time people wore sandals and so their feet got dirty from walking on the streets. When they came into a house often a servant (usually a women) would wash their feet. It wasn't a pleasant task as the streets would often have animal droppings on them. So Jesus took a very humbling task and did this to all his disciples, even Judas. It then goes on to say:

After washing their feet, he put his robe on and returned to his place at the table. "Do you understand what I just did?" Jesus said. "You called me your teacher and lord, and you're right, for that's who I am. So if I'm your teacher and lord and have just washed your dirty feet, then you should follow the example that I've set for you and wash one another's dirty feet. Now do for each other what I have just done for you. I speak to you timeless truth: a servant is not superior to his master, and an apostle is never greater then the one who sent him. So now put into practice what I have done for you, and you will experience a life of happiness enriched with untold blessings!" (John 13:12-17 TPT)

Jesus came to reveal what God is like and so many of his stories were pointing to a God very different from what people thought. So now when you or someone says "Lord Jesus" you can have the image and understanding that He came to serve not to be served! God doesn't need anything from us, but loves to serve us. Perhaps a challenge to our thinking!

I hope you enjoyed my short blog.