I’ve never really liked my feet. It’s extremely difficult to find shoes that fit properly because my feet are short and wide with squared off toes. The bottoms of my pinkie toes are squished into a point, and their nails don’t grow right. I also don’t spend much time taking care of my feet. So, my heels are usually cracked, and my toe nails usually look atrocious.
I’m ready for summer and flipflop weather, but at the same time, I’m not excited for my feet to be exposed for everyone’s viewing. In fact, as I prepare to take a photo for this blog, I wonder if I should take the time to trim and paint my nails to hide how bad they look.
At the beginning of staff meeting last week, our Campus Minister asked us to bring our phones into the auditorium. He had placed a mat with an Easter invitation on the floor. He told us each to take a photo of our feet on the mat and then post it to social media with #ChristsChurch #HopeForAll. Although I participated, I was a little disappointed that I hadn’t worn fancier shoes that day. At least my feet weren’t bare.
I watched all of the photos of our staff’s feet circulating around social media and thought about all the different shoes and the personalities that went along. A couple of days later, I noticed a post by someone outside of staff. Katie had come in for band practice and taken a photo of her feet on the mat. That’s when I was hit by the sweetness of the photo and what it meant. The words of Isaiah echoed in my mind,
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’” ~Isaiah 52:7
I thought about each of the posts I had seen and all of the different feet. Each set of feet belongs to a person who has walked a unique journey. Each person could tell you about happy adventures their feet had taken them on, but each person could share stories about the trials and struggles along the way as well.
Whatever path each of us have taken, the one thing in common with all of those feet is that the people they belong to have chosen to follow Jesus and to proclaim his truth and love as they go. Every believer has a story to tell about the way Jesus has made a difference in their life.
It doesn’t matter if our feet look worn and neglected or if they are regularly pampered with pedicures. It doesn’t matter if we wear sparkly heels, leather boots or battered sneakers. What matters is if those feet are willing to go and to take the good news to share with others.
My heart is warmed each time I see a post with feet planted on the Easter invitation mat or a post of a hand holding an Easter invitation they will pass along. Each post reveals a person who has been impacted by Jesus in such a way that they can’t help but share his goodness with others.
God is pure and holy. He created each of us in his image, but we have all sinned by choosing to do things our own way instead of his. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus. God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son to die on a cross and pay the penalty for our sin. This free gift of grace is offered to everyone no matter what they have done. We simply have to believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God and accept him as our Lord and Savior. In doing so, we repent of our sin, turning from our ways to his and following him. Through Jesus, we find forgiveness, salvation, hope and peace, and that is good news worth sharing.
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.’” ~Romans 10:14-15