Honestly, it’s not a frequent occurrence for thoughts of Bathrobes and Towels to arise while contemplating Scripture, unless, of course, you visualize the numerous childhood nativity scenes where these two garments are essential props for depicting the fashion of the first century. Clad in a parent’s bathrobe and a towel on the head, children do their best to assist the audience in returning to days long in the past. But the Bathrobes and Towels serving as illustrations for today’s post arose recently while reading Kyle Idleman’s The End of Me, and the challenges he poses for living an end-of-me life resonate deeply.

In today’s culture it’s not a far reach for efforts to define a flourishing life to immediately produce images of strength and power, along with wealth and luxury. Having never over-nighted in the plush accommodations like the Ritz-Carlton, I will trust Idleman’s opinion that they offer the softest bathrobe available to man. However, I can imagine pampering myself in this manner. “To wear such a robe means you can meander down to the spa and enjoy a relaxing massage. It means you suddenly think in terms of pampering yourself, taking care of you. By all means, toss your towels on the floor after your shower; the help will pick them up…People pay a premium to be pampered, to elevate the luxuries of the self.”

Perhaps you can imagine where this challenge is heading, because Here Comes Trouble— where Jesus turns everything upside down and inside out! Idleman shares, “We want to be served. We want our every need met with tender loving care. It means you are successful and powerful. You’ve arrived. And as you read your map and choose your path, you deeply hope it will pass through the Five-Star hotels of the world. But Jesus says that’s not on the itinerary. Here, again, is the treasure he offers in that passage from Matthew 16: (1) Deny yourself. (2) Pick up your cross. (3) Follow him. (4) Prepare to die. It’s not the most exciting travel plan. But it’s the reason the treasure is so elusive and so few seek it.”

So, now we are challenged to choose between Bathrobes and Towels on the path to a flourishing life. Culture, then and now, lures us to accept the bathrobe, but Jesus models celebrating the towel. “As we sulk in our entitlement, we look down to see Jesus scrubbing our feet—Jesus, who is perfect and receives as his reward the worst abuse men could offer. Jesus, God in flesh, who humbled himself and took the form of a servant; Jesus, who gives to us so much, his very life, knowing that we could offer him nothing in return.” With a Quiet Ego, Jesus opts for the life of “utter humility rather than the way of a proud and influential rabbi.”

In the choice between Bathrobes and Towels, how often do I shun the towel, no matter how soft and appealing, for the bathrobe? In today’s world of knowledge about personal health and cleanliness, I still wouldn’t choose the towel. In fact, I admit that the Lord has even placed this on my heart once when serving with a mission team and I allowed the thought to cross my mind and then just as quickly, evaporate. I chose the bathrobe. Feet are nasty, even my own! Now, imagine how much more so the disciples’ feet were. And yet, “Jesus took a towel, dipped it in water, and continued to wash feet.” And not just the feet of those who loved him well, He chose the towel with those He knew would betray Him. “If Jesus can wash the feet of Judas, then it’s time for me to come to the end of myself and follow his example.” Whew! Hard stuff to digest!

The disciples learned the heart-wrenching lesson between the Bathrobes and Towels. “The time for themselves was all about the bathrobe—self-promotion, ladder climbing, competition. The end of themselves was about the towel—service, encouragement, blessing others.” Which will we choose? Because it will never become an easy choice, simple, but never easy. “Each day when we climb out of bed to begin a new day, we’re still human. The old self gets out of bed with us, and we have to put on Christ as an act of will, over and over.”

When have you seen someone make the tough decision between Bathrobes and Towels? How did you see God bless that situation? Please consider sharing in the comments below.

Reference:

Idleman, K. (2015). The end of me: Where real life in the upside-down ways of Jesus Begins. David C. Cook.