“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
- Romans 10:15 ESV
I’ve never understood why humans are so particular about their feet.
Shoes. Socks. Boots. Sandals. Fancy shoes for church. Work boots for doing something they probably should’ve hired somebody else to do.
Me? I’ve got four feet, and I’m pretty proud of all of them.
Of course, mine have seen some things.
Mud.
Dirt.
Grass.
Creeks.
A few things I probably shouldn’t have stepped in.
This morning, my human was sitting on the porch with his Bible and coffee. I was stretched out nearby, keeping an eye on things. Somebody has to watch for silly rabbits.
He read Romans 10:15:
“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
I looked down at my feet.
God doesn’t say beautiful feet are clean feet. He says beautiful feet belong to people who carry the Good News.
Feet that have walked through hard places.
Feet that have stumbled.
Feet that have gotten dirty.
Feet that have kept going when the road got difficult.
Feet that have walked into somebody’s pain because Jesus told them to go.
The Gospel doesn’t require perfect feet.
It requires willing feet.
They were dirty, scratched, and worn from a life of following my human around.
Then I listened a little closer.
Paul wasn’t saying the feet themselves were pretty.
He was talking about the people who bring the Good News.
And that Good News is the Gospel: Jesus Christ came to save sinners. He died for our sins, rose from the grave, and offers salvation to everyone who calls on Him.
That’s what makes the feet beautiful.
They carry Jesus’ message of salvation to people who need to hear it.
Romans 10 says that people must hear in order to believe, and someone has to go and tell them. So the beautiful feet are the feet that carry the name of Jesus into a world that desperately needs Him.
Those feet might be tired.
They might be dirty.
They might have scars.
They might have walked through some pretty rough places.
But they keep going.
Sometimes that means walking across a kitchen floor.
Sometimes it means walking across the street or next door.
Sometimes it means walking into a hospital room, a funeral home, a broken relationship, or a difficult conversation.
And sometimes it simply means walking faithfully through an ordinary Thursday while letting people see Jesus in the way we live… carrying the Gospel in word and deed.
Come to think of it, that sounds a lot like following your human around.
You just keep going.
So I think I’ve learned something this morning.
Beautiful feet don’t have to be perfect feet. They just need to be feet that are willing to carry a beautiful message.
The message that Jesus saves.
And if those feet get a little muddy and tired along the way?
Well…
I know a good spot on the porch where we can sit down, drink some coffee, open the Bible, and get ready to go again.
Keep the Faith… Carpe Diem
