Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things,
Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion,
“ Your God reigns!” Isaiah 52:7 NKJV
Granny did not have pretty or dainty feet. I never saw her in a sleek pair of heels. She was never adorned with polished toenails. Most often I saw her in the pair of plain white sneakers that she wore to work every day at one of the Dundee cotton mills in Griffin, Georgia.
Her feet had knots - I guess you might call them 'bunions' -that protruded to the point of wearing away the canvas of her tennis shoes. Sometimes they pained her.
But like the feet in the passage above, they were beautiful feet.
They were the feet that trudged back and forth between the looms in that cotton mill, on hard floors - day after day. They were the feet that carried her home, where they quickly transported her about the house in preparation of supper ('dinner' was the noon meal, of course).
They were the means of moving her about after supper as she flitted about washing, cleaning, putting away and constantly wiping counters with a dishcloth.
They would finally take her to a softer seat where she might rest a few moments; but then she would be up on them again to prepare sleeping arrangements for her children and grandchildren that had come to visit.
In the night, one would not have to strain the ears very much to hear those feet softly pattering about the kitchen or sneaking into the bedroom to be sure all the children were under their covers.
They were beautiful feet because of the love that they walked out every day.
Imagine a small patrol in a military situation, pinned down for days by the enemy's watchful eye. Food rations are gone, water is scarce, hope ebbs away. Then running footsteps are heard! Is it friend or foe? It is a friend! And he brings with him bread and water and the good news that help is on the way.
As this band savors the cool water, they peer down at his feet. They are bleeding and bruised and filthy - wounds his treacherous journey had inflicted. Yet they are beautiful for they have brought good news!
Feet probably get the least respect of any other parts of our body. We put them to work immediately when we wake up and they are the last thing we take off before going to sleep (take our feet off the floor). They plod through their entire existence at the bottom - far removed from all the excitement and activities of the brain. Yet they are highly valued in the kingdom of God.
As I give you a few examples, put yourself into the shoes of the feet that are mentioned (forgive me - I couldn't help myself) ... especially if you feel that your stock is low.
Wet Feet - This story got this whole idea rolling for me. Over the past year or so, I have read it several times and it has appeared in several devotions (some of my own). It's the story of the crossing of the Jordan River, by the Israelites as they moved into the Promised Land Proper . . .
and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water . . . that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap .... Joshua 3:15a & 16a NKJV.
Those priestly leaders were the only Israelites to get their feet wet that day. Everyone else crossed on dry land. Wet feet reveal a brand of leadership that is willing to step in ahead of the crowd and before the miracle.
On the stormy sea of Galilee as Peter stepped out of the boat - it is likely his feet got wet (especially when he sank in the water at one point), yet he was the only man in the boat - besides Jesus - that walked on water.
Muddy Feet - These are feet that have been there. . . .
He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. Psalm 40:2 NKJV
I don't think I truly understood "miry clay" until this summer when the kids and I got into a clay pit at Williamsburg, Virginia. That's where you step in barefooted and walk around in a clay and water mixture. The softened clay is then used to make bricks. 
It was really difficult to move around shin-deep in heavy suctioning clay. AA tried his "hand" at mixing with his hands, when he lost his balance a couple times and landed on all fours. And it was a mess. We spent about as much time -or more - trying to clean the clay off our feet as we spent in the clay pit.
Sin does that to people - pulls them down, messes them up and holds them with a tight grip. Sometimes when they leave the pit, it can take a long time to wash away the residue and its lingering effects.But no one quite understands muddy feet, like someone who has been in the pit.
Remembering our muddy feet can help us be more compassionate to those not yet on the Rock.
(God)who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 2 Corinthians 1:4 NIV
Bare Feet -
Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” Exodus 3:5 NKJV
In 1995 at an early Promisekeepers Event, I sat in the Georgia Dome with tens of thousands of other men as Pastor Jack Hayford led us in removing our shoes - literally. As we did (and as far as I know, everyone participated) he taught us that it was likely that Moses had made those sandals himself. When God told him to take them off, He was saying "do away with all of your own efforts because they will come between you and Me".
In the 70's when people were getting "free" a lot of folks went barefooted. You remember one of the Beatles appeared barefooted on the Abbey Road album. Well, being just a kid, I spent a great deal of my summers barefooted.
In the summer of 1972, we were moving to Morristown, Tennessee and spent a week or so in a motel while were looking for a house. One of the first evenings that we went out with a real estate agent to look at houses - I decided to go barefooted. I guess I was just being a free spirit.
What a goofy thing to do. I soon realized the goofiness of my fashion choice and was embarrassed the entire time. It is likely that no one noticed the eleven year old kid all cleaned up and and shoeless, but I sure thought they did. Being barefooted in that setting was humiliating.
But feet that are bare before Christ are different. They are feet with nothing to hide - feet without pretense. And only bare feet can experience the "Holy".
The "feet" theme could go on and on down many trails ...
Jesus used dirty feet, a basin and a towel to demonstrate a true servant-spirit...
Some of the most picturesque models of unrelenting worship took place at Jesus' feet ...
And stories - oh so many stories - could be found at Jesus' feet... Mary choosing right, the man formerly known as 'Legion' sitting there in his right mind, and children playing.
Feet, like people, may not always get the respect they deserve, but God had a grand purpose in mind when he created feet.
How much more the purpose and plans He has in mind for you.
In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. 1 Corinthians 12:22 NLT
No comments:
Post a Comment