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"I'm going to go for a five-gallon walk," my friend Nick has been known to say. Five-gallon walk? What is he talking about? Distance can be measured by various means but not gallons. Nick takes his five-gallon buck- et, small dustpan, broom, and a grappler and walks the neighborhood, picking up trash until he fills his bucket. Unfortunately, a five-gallon walk is usually only a cou- ple of blocks. He has a bigger trash can in the back of his truck so he can dump his bucket and go out again. He usually spends about an hour three times per week picking up other people's trash. I asked how he got started doing this. He told me there was a lot of trash in his neighborhood. He hates trash; it drives him crazy. Somebody should do something about this, he thought. Then he realized, I'm somebody. So he got some professional equipment and started picking up trash. People in the neighborhood started honking and waving, and the area began to look nicer. Then he wondered, How can I make this a witnessing opportunity? He had the idea of wearing a safety vest with Scripture on it. Nick paraphrased Ephesians 6:7–8 and had "Serve as for Jesus" put on the vest. Then, not only was he helping his neighbors, but he was also sharing with them the reason behind his actions. He has had opportunities to witness to people when he is out and wearing his vest. One man walked up, read the vest, and said, "Jesus? All right!" Then a local television station interviewed him. After getting footage of him at work, they asked him why he did this. He thought, I'm just going to say this, so he answered, "If my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, can wash His disciples' feet, I can pick up some trash in the neighborhood." They left it in and aired it. Jesus did even dirtier work for us. The Son of God humbled Himself and left the perfection of heaven to take on human form and be our servant. He went to the cross to clean up our mess and make us clean. This action takes place when we are baptized by "a lavish washing away of sin" (LSB, p. 269). We read about Jesus washing His disciples' feet in John 13:1–17. What did He say when He was finished? "For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you" (John 13:15). Jesus demon- strated how we are to love and serve our neighbor by performing one of the most menial of tasks. He got down on the ground and washed the dirty, stinky feet of men who walked everywhere. He showed us that we are not too good to love others. w Trusting that God knows the path He's leading you down can be scary. But He has a calling for everyone. In this eight-week women's Bible study, find encouragement that God knows where He is guiding you and find confidence in your calling. Find this title and others listed in this magazine at cph.org/ llresources. WHEREVER LOVE MAY LEAD: YOUR PLACE IN GOD'S PLAN 1. In John 13:3, what did Jesus know about Himself as He got up to serve the disciples by washing their feet? 2. This seemed like an incredible act for Jesus, the teacher, to stoop down and wash the dirty feet of His students. But what did He do for them the next day that turned out to be even more beneath Him? Read John 19:16–18. 3. Read Matthew 20:25–28. What does Jesus say we need to do to be great? What does He say is the rea- son He came? 4. Read Philippians 2:1–11. What does verse 5 say about Christ Jesus? What do the following verses say He did about it? What will come of His actions? What does Paul challenge us to do at the beginning of this passage? 5. We can't do a study on loving our neighbor with- out reading the story of the Good Samaritan. Read Luke 10:25–37. What did Jesus say when the lawyer asked Him what He should do to inherit eternal life? 6. Jesus told a story about who our neighbor is. Based on His story, name some neighbors that you might not normally think of as neighbors. 7. What is Jesus' definition of a neighbor? See verses 36 and 37. 8. What does Jesus tell the lawyer—and us—to do? Lutheran Life 11

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