Have you ever been running around in your tennis shoes all day? If you have, then you know what happens to feet after they’ve been outside for a long time—they stink.

Jesus’s disciples had a day like that, a long day of walking everywhere. Guess what? They had smelly feet too. The unexpected thing, though? Jesus volunteered to wash their feet (and He knew just how stinky their feet would be).

Just as we would have, the disciple Peter protested.

“No,” he cried out to Jesus, “you will never ever wash my feet!” (John 13:8). You see, Peter knew Jesus was a king. And kings don’t wash stinky feet. But Peter missed something important. Jesus rules an upside-down kingdom. A kingdom in which important people forget special privileges. Instead, they’re the first to serve.

So, will you follow Jesus’s example? In God’s kingdom, we’re called to humbly serve, even if the job is a little bit stinky.

Jesus, I can’t believe You washed stinky feet! Help me follow Your example by serving others, even when the work isn’t glamorous.