The following is the manuscript of the apron devotional given by Katy Smith at The Harbor Ladies' Tea on March 21, 2009:
Can I have a show of hands? How many of you wear an apron on a regular basis? When you’re cooking? Cleaning? Maybe gardening? Do any of you wear an apron all day long every day? I typically only wear one when I’m cooking/baking something messy and I actually care about the outfit I have on.
You and I use aprons more as a convenience where women in the past wore them out of necessity. Our lifestyle is pretty far removed from the time when people wore aprons as part of their daily clothing. It used to be that women wore aprons all day long to protect their clothing and help in their daily tasks. When women had only a few handmade dresses and wore them a week at a time between hand washings, they would wear an apron to keep their dresses clean. The apron was also useful for doing household chores. It served as a basket for carrying things in from the garden, a potholder while cooking, and a towel to dry hands and scrub dirt off of little faces. It’s a little different from our lifestyle now where we buy closets full of clothes from a store, wash and dry them in machines, and spend much of our day away from home. The apron has become somewhat obsolete as a part of our daily attire, and has really only remained a clothing staple in the service industries as a uniform. We’re used to waiters, housekeepers, box boys, butchers, bakers, and other workers wearing aprons when they’re on the clock, but women no longer put on an apron first thing in the morning and wearing it until bedtime.
Now, aprons in the home are more of a trendy accessory. A nostalgic piece of the past that makes us look back with fondness at the way things used to be. It’s a part of history that draws us back to a simpler life. When you think of aprons you might think of a pioneer woman, a good housewife of the 1950s, perhaps your own grandma. To me, aprons speak of womanhood. There’s something about tying one on that makes you feel more feminine, more domestic, more productive, more in touch with where you’ve come from and what your purpose as a woman is, and most of all, just ready to get things done. What it really comes down to is that the apron is a symbol for service.
Let me share a story with you about a time when Jesus wore an apron as he demonstrated what true service should look like. In John chapter 13 it says:
“ 1It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.[a]
2The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. (skipping forward to verse 12) 12When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. 13"You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet (loved you and served you), you also should wash one another's feet (love and serve each other). 15I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”
Jesus humbled himself, took on the role of a servant and washed his disciples’ feet to show that our love for others should show itself in the form of service to them. Our service results in three things: we meet others’ physical needs, we share the Gospel through our actions, and we, the servant, are blessed for having served.
One female Bible character that demonstrated love through her service was Dorcas . We read about her in Acts chapter 9: It says, “36In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas[b]), who was always doing good and helping the poor. 37About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, "Please come at once!"
39Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.
40Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, "Tabitha, get up." She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. 41He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive. 42This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.”From this account we see all three aspects of service. First, we see that Dorcas met the physical needs of those around her. It says, she was always doing good and helping the poor and that she made clothing for the widows. Joppa was a seaport. Many women were left widowed when their husbands became shipwrecked at sea. In that culture, when the husband died, the wife lost the estate. JAM 1:27 says, " Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." Dorcas made it her ministry to reach out to these women. She interacted with them and listened to their needs. She was a seamstress by trade, so she sewed clothing for them. She gave of herself in the area God had gifted her. 1 Timothy 6:18 says "Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share." Dorcas was certainly a servant with a loving and willing heart to share with those around her. Second, the story of Dorcas’ faithful service and resuscitation brought people to Christ. It says, her story “became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.” Dorcas was not a leader in the church, or an evangelist by profession. She was simply a disciple who served those around her who were in need and God took care of the rest. MAT 5:16 says "let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." The glory all goes to God. He can use our service to draw others toward salvation. And third, Dorcas was blessed for her service. Because of her love and service to them, the other believers and widows loved her and grieved her loss, so much so that they sent for Peter. God saw fit to have Peter resuscitated her. She was blessed with life again and continued to serve as she had done before. Have you ever stopped to think who would attend your funeral? What a blessing it must have been to Dorcas to come back to life and be surrounded by all those whom she had served.
So, how can we serve in a way that meets others’ needs, so that they will see Jesus through our actions, and so that we ourselves will be blessed for having served?I think we can take from the story of Dorcas that God wants us to love and serve where we are and with the gifts he’s already given us. God has placed you in a unique spot to serve those around you. There is no one else who has the exact same sphere of influence that you do. If you’re married, God wants you to serve your husband, if you have children, God wants you to serve your children, if you have neighbors, God wants you to serve your neighbors, if you have classmates or coworkers, he wants you to serve them too. Wherever God has placed you, he has service for you to do using the gifts and talents He has blessed you with. Your gift might be cooking, in which case you could make a meal for your neighbor when she is sick or help stock the pantry for a coworker who is going through a tough time financially. Perhaps you’re gifted with entertaining kids, you could offer to watch someone’s kids so they can get away together for an evening. Service doesn’t have to be a big commitment, in fact, if you’re thinking of it as a “commitment” chances are you have the wrong attitude going into it. Your service should be a demonstration of an overflowing of love for the person that you’re serving and not about anything else.
The passage that most clearly spoke to me on this topic was Philipians 2:3 It says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
I hope that each time you see an apron or tie one on, it will remind you of loving and serving others as Christ loves and serves us, especially of his ultimate service to you in dying on the cross in your place so you could be reconciled to God.
You and I use aprons more as a convenience where women in the past wore them out of necessity. Our lifestyle is pretty far removed from the time when people wore aprons as part of their daily clothing. It used to be that women wore aprons all day long to protect their clothing and help in their daily tasks. When women had only a few handmade dresses and wore them a week at a time between hand washings, they would wear an apron to keep their dresses clean. The apron was also useful for doing household chores. It served as a basket for carrying things in from the garden, a potholder while cooking, and a towel to dry hands and scrub dirt off of little faces. It’s a little different from our lifestyle now where we buy closets full of clothes from a store, wash and dry them in machines, and spend much of our day away from home. The apron has become somewhat obsolete as a part of our daily attire, and has really only remained a clothing staple in the service industries as a uniform. We’re used to waiters, housekeepers, box boys, butchers, bakers, and other workers wearing aprons when they’re on the clock, but women no longer put on an apron first thing in the morning and wearing it until bedtime.
Now, aprons in the home are more of a trendy accessory. A nostalgic piece of the past that makes us look back with fondness at the way things used to be. It’s a part of history that draws us back to a simpler life. When you think of aprons you might think of a pioneer woman, a good housewife of the 1950s, perhaps your own grandma. To me, aprons speak of womanhood. There’s something about tying one on that makes you feel more feminine, more domestic, more productive, more in touch with where you’ve come from and what your purpose as a woman is, and most of all, just ready to get things done. What it really comes down to is that the apron is a symbol for service.
Let me share a story with you about a time when Jesus wore an apron as he demonstrated what true service should look like. In John chapter 13 it says:
“ 1It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.[a]
2The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. (skipping forward to verse 12) 12When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. 13"You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet (loved you and served you), you also should wash one another's feet (love and serve each other). 15I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”
Jesus humbled himself, took on the role of a servant and washed his disciples’ feet to show that our love for others should show itself in the form of service to them. Our service results in three things: we meet others’ physical needs, we share the Gospel through our actions, and we, the servant, are blessed for having served.
One female Bible character that demonstrated love through her service was Dorcas . We read about her in Acts chapter 9: It says, “36In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas[b]), who was always doing good and helping the poor. 37About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, "Please come at once!"
39Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.
40Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, "Tabitha, get up." She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. 41He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive. 42This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.”From this account we see all three aspects of service. First, we see that Dorcas met the physical needs of those around her. It says, she was always doing good and helping the poor and that she made clothing for the widows. Joppa was a seaport. Many women were left widowed when their husbands became shipwrecked at sea. In that culture, when the husband died, the wife lost the estate. JAM 1:27 says, " Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." Dorcas made it her ministry to reach out to these women. She interacted with them and listened to their needs. She was a seamstress by trade, so she sewed clothing for them. She gave of herself in the area God had gifted her. 1 Timothy 6:18 says "Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share." Dorcas was certainly a servant with a loving and willing heart to share with those around her. Second, the story of Dorcas’ faithful service and resuscitation brought people to Christ. It says, her story “became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.” Dorcas was not a leader in the church, or an evangelist by profession. She was simply a disciple who served those around her who were in need and God took care of the rest. MAT 5:16 says "let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." The glory all goes to God. He can use our service to draw others toward salvation. And third, Dorcas was blessed for her service. Because of her love and service to them, the other believers and widows loved her and grieved her loss, so much so that they sent for Peter. God saw fit to have Peter resuscitated her. She was blessed with life again and continued to serve as she had done before. Have you ever stopped to think who would attend your funeral? What a blessing it must have been to Dorcas to come back to life and be surrounded by all those whom she had served.
So, how can we serve in a way that meets others’ needs, so that they will see Jesus through our actions, and so that we ourselves will be blessed for having served?I think we can take from the story of Dorcas that God wants us to love and serve where we are and with the gifts he’s already given us. God has placed you in a unique spot to serve those around you. There is no one else who has the exact same sphere of influence that you do. If you’re married, God wants you to serve your husband, if you have children, God wants you to serve your children, if you have neighbors, God wants you to serve your neighbors, if you have classmates or coworkers, he wants you to serve them too. Wherever God has placed you, he has service for you to do using the gifts and talents He has blessed you with. Your gift might be cooking, in which case you could make a meal for your neighbor when she is sick or help stock the pantry for a coworker who is going through a tough time financially. Perhaps you’re gifted with entertaining kids, you could offer to watch someone’s kids so they can get away together for an evening. Service doesn’t have to be a big commitment, in fact, if you’re thinking of it as a “commitment” chances are you have the wrong attitude going into it. Your service should be a demonstration of an overflowing of love for the person that you’re serving and not about anything else.
The passage that most clearly spoke to me on this topic was Philipians 2:3 It says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
I hope that each time you see an apron or tie one on, it will remind you of loving and serving others as Christ loves and serves us, especially of his ultimate service to you in dying on the cross in your place so you could be reconciled to God.
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