In Acts 13:22, God said that David was a man after his heart because David loved God and would do anything that God asked him to do.

David knew it pleased God when he completely obeyed his commandments, and he asked God to test him to see that his heart and mind was blameless before him.

Psalms 26: 1 Vindicate me, O Lord , for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. 2 Test me, O Lord , and try me, examine my heart and my mind; 3 for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth. 4 I do not sit with deceitful men, nor do I consort with hypocrites;5 I abhor the assembly of evildoers and refuse to sit with the wicked. 6 I wash my hands in innocence, and go about your altar, O Lord, 7 proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all your wonderful deeds. 8 I love the house where you live, O Lord, the place where your glory dwells. 9 Do not take away my soul along with sinners, my life with bloodthirsty men, 10 in whose hands are wicked schemes, whose right hands are full of bribes. 11 But I lead a blameless life; redeem me and be merciful to me. 12 My feet stand on level ground; in the great assembly I will praise the Lord.

My Bible commentary said that David may have written this psalm during the time his son Absalom was attempting to take over his kingdom. So, we know this is after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered, her husband Uriah and repented seeking God’s forgiveness which God gave him.

David knew God was faithful in his forgiveness and again sought after the heart of God by living a blameless life by walking continually in God’s truth and staying away from those whose character God rejected. David sought God’s mercy asking him to redeem his life from those who were scheming to take it. He asked God to test him to see if he was worthy to be saved by the blameless life, he lived for him.

Some may think God expects every believer to be just like David and live a blameless life that measures up his, but the Bible does not say we need to be like David, but we need to have the faith David had in God. The Bible teaches each believer will receive their own measure of faith by God which he wants us to use for him.

Romans 12: 3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

This is just like Jesus’ parable of the different measure of talents Jesus gave to his servants to invest in God’s kingdom.David asked God to test him, but Jesus wants us to test our own faith to see if his Spirit dwells in us.

2 Corinthians 13: 5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test? 6 And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test.

Paul said that we should examine our faith by testing it to see if the Spirit of Jesus dwells in us. Paul said that his life will show that he has not failed to do what Jesus has asked him to do because of his faith in the truth he has found in Jesus.
2 Corinthians 13: 7 Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. Not that people will see that we have stood the test but that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. 8 For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.

In Corinthians 11: 1, Paul said to follow his example as he follows the example of Christ. To test ourselves to see if Jesus dwells in us is to know his truth like Paul and obey what Jesus commands us to do.

John 13: 34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Jesus commands us to love one another the way he has loved us and to examine ourselves and test ourselves to see if we love the way he has loved us.

When we love like Jesus, we are made holy to God set apart for his use. Jesus is not commanding us to live a blameless life because he knows all will sin and false short of God’s glory but to live a life knowing we are saved by God’s grace through faith in him and obey him out of Love. Because love covers a multitude of sin.

1 Peter 4: 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

This is how we are to love like Jesus.

John 13: 1 It 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. 2 The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" 7 Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." 8 "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." 9 "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!" 10 Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not everyone was clean. 12 When 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. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet.15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Jesus washed his disciples’ feet out of love for them and not as a symbolic gesture. He first dressed himself as a servant showing that he has come serve them out of his love for them and then wash his disciples’ feet which was at time a house servant’s duty to clean the dirty feet of a quest. Jesus also told Peter that it was not necessary for him to wash what was already clean. Meaning love is not caring for what is not necessary but only what is.

Jesus’ washing of his disciples’ feet has been used as a symbolic gesture by ceremonially washing someone’s feet just like water baptism or having a wedding ceremony. It’s only a symbolic gesture because there are some who have not kept what they gestured.

Jesus is not looking for symbolic gestures when serving him. He wants what James said we need to prove our faith in Jesus by our deeds and not by our words or gestures.

So, when you examine yourself if you truly love others with Jesus’ love test to see if it is by deeds of servitude caring for others in their time of needs.

Be safe in Jesus, Ps. Glenn.