He said my Feet were Beautiful…yours? Romans 10.13-15

Truthfully, over the years, I never gave my feet too much thought—that is, unless they hurt!  For instance, about 20 years ago, I sold shoes at Nordstrom in downtown San Francisco for a while.  Oh, my goodness, MY feet never hurt so badly in all my life!  And dealing with women in the shoe department?  Please . . . don’t get me started!

Then there was the time when I was at a party in Northern California and a long-time friend of my older brother stopped, made a point of looking down at my bare feet, looked back up at my face, and said, ‘you have the most beautiful feet!  Why, they’re perfect!’  I quickly moved away, thinking, ‘whatever, dude—you’re kinda sick’. 

Then, when I moved to Southern California a decade ago, it seemed to be the law that women had to sport spiffy pedicures. I actually got in the habit of studying which flowers looked best—see, it wasn’t a matter of IF you had your toenails painted with a dainty white flower, but what the flower design looked like on your big toe.  Again, oh brother.   (These days, I fancy polka dots myself…ha)

Enough silliness about feet . . . but might we brainstorm a minute?  When I say ‘feet’, what word comes to mind?  Would you ever, in a million years, attach the word ‘beautiful’ to ‘feet’?

Yet the prophet Isaiah did just that.  From Isaiah chapter 52,  ‘how beautiful are the feet of them who bring good news.’  And Paul recalls that in today’s passage from Romans chapter 10.

He wrote to the church at Rome:  “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

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 10.13-15

Indeed, someone must tell them.  Someone must tell people that there is a God who loves them—who created all of this, flung the galaxies and planets into space, and yet has a plan for their individual lives, here in 2011.  Simply mind boggling, it is.

I remember the time I took a risk and invited a fellow soccer mom to Women of Passion.  She was a pretty, tall, blonde, quiet, locally spawned and reared girl.  After she had attended Bible study for several weeks, I sidled up next to her in a buffet line and inquired, “So, where are you with Christianity?  Did you grow up with any faith?  Like, were you Catholic?”  She turned her head to look at me, and I will never forget what she said; it made such an impression on me.

“Actually, this is the first time I have ever heard about Jesus.”  I tried not to let the shock register on my face, but I was stunned.  ‘What??? How can that be?’ I thought.  You grew up in middle America, about the same time as I did, you live just a block from my house now, our kids play on the same sports teams, and yet you have never heard about Jesus?’  Understand that all of this was reverberating off the sound-walls in my own head, but I just couldn’t believe it. 

How beautiful are the feet of them who bring good news.  Good news – there is a God, and he loves you.  Good news – not just about once around the track and then you die.  No, there’s more.  Good news – you don’t have to earn God’s love; he gives it to you freely.

We just tend to think that ‘most’ have heard, don’t we?  (That is, if we give it a thought in the first place.)  Some have heard and the message got lost, and they just need someone in their life to tell them what life can be, if they choose to meet Jesus—choose to experience his great love.  Look around you—are there those who haven’t really heard?  Maybe you are meant to actually go—you know, take action—that is to say, move with your feet!  Ah yes, your beautiful feet . . . bringing good news of hope, life, purpose, contentment, truth and peace. 

Christine

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