April 1st, 2026
by Rachel Mahoney
by Rachel Mahoney
Love to the End (Day 4)
It’s one thing to love people
when they’re showing up for you.
It’s another thing entirely…
to love them when you already know they won’t.
A Moment Jesus Fully Understood
In John 13:1–17, we’re brought into the room of the Last Supper.
And what gives this moment its depth is simple, but heavy:
Jesus knows everything.
He knows Judas is about to betray Him.
He knows Peter will deny Him before morning.
He knows the rest will scatter when things get hard.
None of this catches Him off guard.
There are no surprises here.
And still… He stays.
The Posture He Chose
In the middle of that meal, Jesus does something unexpected.
He gets up from the table, kneels down, and begins washing His disciples’ feet.
This wasn’t just kind.
It was the lowest role in the room.
Dusty roads, worn feet... this was servant work.
The kind of thing people avoided if they could.
And yet Jesus, the one with all authority, chooses that position.
Not because He has to.
Because He wants to.
The Resistance We Understand
Peter speaks up, and honestly, most of us probably would too.
“Never. You’re not washing my feet.”
It feels wrong. Backwards.
Because it’s one thing to admire Jesus…
it’s another thing to let Him serve you like that.
To let Him step into your mess.
To receive something you didn’t earn.
But Jesus answers him with something direct:
“If I don’t wash you, you have no part with me.”
In other words, this isn’t optional.
You don’t just get to respect Him from a distance.
You have to let Him love you.
Before They Failed
Here’s what makes this moment even more personal:
Jesus washes the feet of people
who are about to fail Him completely.
Not after they get it together.
Not once they prove their loyalty.
Before.
Before the betrayal.
Before the denial.
Before the running.
That’s not just an example to follow.
That’s a picture of who God is.
The Kind of Love We Struggle to Receive
Jesus already knows the parts of your story
you’d rather leave out.
The regrets.
The missteps.
The patterns you wish were different.
And His response isn’t to pull back.
It’s to move closer.
Which brings us to a quieter, more personal question:
Can you actually receive that kind of love?
Because for a lot of us, that’s the harder part.
It’s easier to try and prove ourselves.
Easier to keep a little distance.
But Jesus doesn’t offer that option.
He kneels anyway.
A Simple Prayer
Jesus, it’s hard to believe
You would kneel for someone like me.
Teach me to receive Your love
without pushing it away.
And out of that,
help me show that same kind of love to someone else.
Amen.
Take a Step Today
Do one quiet act of service for someone today.
Something they didn’t ask for.
Something no one else needs to know about.
And while you do it…
remember the kind of King
who once did the same for you.
It’s one thing to love people
when they’re showing up for you.
It’s another thing entirely…
to love them when you already know they won’t.
A Moment Jesus Fully Understood
In John 13:1–17, we’re brought into the room of the Last Supper.
And what gives this moment its depth is simple, but heavy:
Jesus knows everything.
He knows Judas is about to betray Him.
He knows Peter will deny Him before morning.
He knows the rest will scatter when things get hard.
None of this catches Him off guard.
There are no surprises here.
And still… He stays.
The Posture He Chose
In the middle of that meal, Jesus does something unexpected.
He gets up from the table, kneels down, and begins washing His disciples’ feet.
This wasn’t just kind.
It was the lowest role in the room.
Dusty roads, worn feet... this was servant work.
The kind of thing people avoided if they could.
And yet Jesus, the one with all authority, chooses that position.
Not because He has to.
Because He wants to.
The Resistance We Understand
Peter speaks up, and honestly, most of us probably would too.
“Never. You’re not washing my feet.”
It feels wrong. Backwards.
Because it’s one thing to admire Jesus…
it’s another thing to let Him serve you like that.
To let Him step into your mess.
To receive something you didn’t earn.
But Jesus answers him with something direct:
“If I don’t wash you, you have no part with me.”
In other words, this isn’t optional.
You don’t just get to respect Him from a distance.
You have to let Him love you.
Before They Failed
Here’s what makes this moment even more personal:
Jesus washes the feet of people
who are about to fail Him completely.
Not after they get it together.
Not once they prove their loyalty.
Before.
Before the betrayal.
Before the denial.
Before the running.
That’s not just an example to follow.
That’s a picture of who God is.
The Kind of Love We Struggle to Receive
Jesus already knows the parts of your story
you’d rather leave out.
The regrets.
The missteps.
The patterns you wish were different.
And His response isn’t to pull back.
It’s to move closer.
Which brings us to a quieter, more personal question:
Can you actually receive that kind of love?
Because for a lot of us, that’s the harder part.
It’s easier to try and prove ourselves.
Easier to keep a little distance.
But Jesus doesn’t offer that option.
He kneels anyway.
A Simple Prayer
Jesus, it’s hard to believe
You would kneel for someone like me.
Teach me to receive Your love
without pushing it away.
And out of that,
help me show that same kind of love to someone else.
Amen.
Take a Step Today
Do one quiet act of service for someone today.
Something they didn’t ask for.
Something no one else needs to know about.
And while you do it…
remember the kind of King
who once did the same for you.
Rachel Mahoney
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