There are many week days when my husband gets home well past the time the last school bell rings at the school he works at. There’s either a team practice or a game to prepare for, or he’s simply doing any number of things to play catch-up or rest before the next responsibility. Though inspiring they may be, it’s not his work ethic or commitment that I’m writing about.
When he gets home, he takes a load off like many of us do. He will take off his shoes and drop his backpack and any other thing he needs to lighten his load for the evening.
The baseball season recently ended for the team he helped coach this spring and so as I picked up his baseball cap he had removed and laid on the couch, I saw a reminder he wrote on the underside of the bill. Under his name, he wrote “wash their feet.”
I don’t need to ask what this meant for him because we’ve had many conversations about what it looks like to “wash the feet” of others. For context’s sake though, this phrase is referencing Jesus literally washing the feet of his disciples the night before His crucifixion, as told in John 13.
Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”
John 13:5-8
The God of the universe in the flesh doing the dirtiest job in that time and culture is a picture of humility, love, service, meekness, gentleness, and even the gospel. It’s a picture of Jesus’ mission.
He humbled Himself to save us. He came to serve and to die a death that only He could, one satisfactory to God the Father. It was a death that would pay the penalty of sin for all who choose to believe in Him. A one-time payment that erases our condemnation.
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Matthew 20:28
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:1
Blake doesn’t literally wash anyone’s feet, but he follows Christ’s command to humbly serve others in Christlikeness, even when it’s not reciprocated.
When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.
John 13:12-15, emphasis mine
Blake lowers himself, like his example Jesus did, and he serves those around him, just as Jesus did a service for us as an outpouring of His love of us and of God the Father. By the work of the Holy Spirit in him, Blake’s love, care, humility, and gentleness points others to Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. His actions preach the gospel, whether he realizes it or not.
Accolades, titles, power, championships, and glory are great privileges in this life, but on his best days my husband humbly focuses on the eternal when coaching and pouring into others.
Just to clarify, he’s not a perfect coach, hence the “best days” I mentioned above. I don’t want to put him on a pedestal because that’s not his proper place, but beyond his flesh and humanity is a work the Lord has done and is doing in him (Philippians 1:6). This is why Blake wrote the reminder “wash their feet” in his hat. As Christians, don’t we all need reminders of our own mission? Don’t we need the constant reminder that this life isn’t about us, that we each have a larger purpose? Don’t we need reminded of where and in whom our identity lies? Don’t we need a constant preaching of the gospel?
The baseball diamond is a mission field as much as a playing field. Just as with anywhere else, the diamond and the school building is where discipleship can happen, because it’s where life happens. It’s where boys can experience the true gospel and be shown a glimpse of who Jesus is by those who live out His mission. They can see Jesus as the One who cleanses us, ye covers us, with His blood. The One who covers us in His righteousness.
Blake comes alive on the baseball field. He understands the game and teaches it and he cheers his players on as they develop. He teaches them how to respect others and how to respect the stuff and facilities they get to use, which teaches them stewardship. He leads by example in showing them how to be set apart in a world filled with materialism, pride, selfishness, and ego. He demonstrates how the dirty jobs are important too. He’s playful and fun and exudes the fruit of the Spirit that is joy.
And whether he realizes it or not, he not only impacts the boys he coaches, but the adults too. I’m not excluded from that. He shows me all the time how to point others to Jesus in character, grace, and humility. He shows me how to love in very practical ways. When I met him several years ago, he showed me what a real Christian faith looks like, and through God’s grace, it changed my life in multiple ways. I can now see that he’s been my earthly spiritual leader since even before we got married. (God is so good, and so very intentional!)
My husband is not Jesus. But my husband glories in Jesus and wants others to have a personal relationship with his Savior.
What an honor to get to witness this and to praise the Lord for His grace.
All scripture references are from the English Standard Version, unless otherwise noted.
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Anna Moore 
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