"How Beautiful Are Your Feet?" by Shane C. Montgomery

 "And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"            Romans 10:15 (ESV)

I was never one that liked feet, I an not sure why, just that feet sort of gross me out.   I have a hard time looking at my own feet and my wife is sometime furious that I avoid looking at her feet.  This might not sound normal but then again we all have our own little quirks that make us different, mine is that I have a hard time seeing other peoples bare feet.


I should say here and for the record that my wifes feet are normal and appear to be just fine, she suffers no unusual foot fungus or deformity, and I love all of her, even her feet.  That does not change the fact that I have a aversion to bare feet, so when I read in Romans 10 "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" 



  I am confronted with a problem.  Are these feet, these dirty, sweaty, smelly feet really beautiful?   Why are they any different or more attractive than anyone else's?    Then I pause to think, you know these feet are feet that belong to men and women commissioned by Christ to carry the good news of the Gospel to a lost world.  And, maybe, that makes them not so bad after all.



   If your feet are like mine they go through a lot of changes in a days time, they start out bare and then they find their way into a nice pair of warm socks then maybe into a pair of old work boots that make them smell as bad as a car full of rotting White Castles.   Then, eight hours later into a pair of gym shoes and sometimes into  several different pairs of dress shoes, some that just plain hurt but match my slacks.  (Why can't we preach in gym shoes? Try standing in the pulpit for two hours in uncomfortable shoes!)  Our feet take a lot of abuse in life and if you have ever taken a moment to look at them, they are not all that sturdy are they.  They are rather fragile.  Look at your ankle, so thin and flimsy compared to the rest of your leg.  Your feet are thin and bony, hardly any padding there.   It is amazing that they put up with the demands we place upon them.  But these frail, sometimes smelly, often dirty, sometimes swollen and aching feet, well they are what delivers the very best news in the history of history!  


   Of all the inventions of our modern world, automobiles, trains and planes, God still uses simple human feet to deliver the Gospel.   Even with the advent of computers, the internet, cell phones, fax machines, texting and radio, all of this and it remains the feet of those chosen by Christ to deliver such an important message, a message of hope and love, a message of atonement for our sins and a message that closes the gap that separates us from God.   This is one powerful, important, life changing message and the God of the universe, the creator of the Heavens and the earth uses our frail little feet to get this message out there.


  I spent the day today on my feet, which is getting harder and harder for me to do.  I spent the day speaking with total strangers.  Listening to their problems, their grief and their hardship.  I spent the day with over a thousand people, and I spoke with as many as I could.  After awhile I began to notice something, I began to notice that every single person I spoke with, every one of them are looking for the very same thing...  can you believe it?   Everyone was open and honest.   Everyone took the time to speak with me and they were very polite.  I thank God for allowing me to spend the entire day with these folks, it was truly a blessing.   After hearing dozens of people and looking into their eyes as they spoke, I seen so clearly what they want  and desire, they want love.   


  These people were of all different economic classes, they were of different races and genders.  They were from six different surrounding counties in SW. Ohio and none of them knew the persons next to them, they were all strangers coming together, waiting in a very long line that moved very, very slowly.   During this time I took it upon myself to grab a large stack of Christmas tracts and some bags of Toys For Tots goodies, you know the key chains, pencils, pins, stickers and the like, some small toys and some Christmas tree glasses and I walked up and down the line for hours speaking with everyone.  I spoke with every single person in line, I gave most a Gospel tract and a few swag items, and they were all nice and open with me, it was such a blessing to hear what they had to say, no one complained, no one!   They were all worried about Christmas and if they were going to be able to get their children enough gifts, (some had nothing to give their kids) and some had a little.  Some worried they were not going to be able to make their car payments, house payments, rent, find another job, get well, reconcile with their loved ones, be able to buy food, and on and on.   But with all these problems, I saw something so wonderful in these people, I saw in their eyes a little bit of hope!   These people touched my heart today like it has not been touched in a long time.   To see so many people who are scared and worried, who do not know what is around the corner, to see them tear up when they speak of taking care and providing for their kids, man, it just gets to you on a level that is hard to explain.
But I know what they want, they want love and they want to be accepted, and forgiven.    They want a fighting chance!   


  Most of these people go to church, that I find to be common.  People who belong to a local congregation, not all of them, but enough, who attend worship every week yet they live in constant fear and worry.  How can this be?  They crave to be loved so much, how can this be?   How do they not know love when they are members of a church?   Someone, and I am not pointing fingers, but someone is dropping the ball here folks!  If these people knew Christ, well then, they would know love.  If they knew My Christ, they would know they are loved and that they are protected and that they have forgiveness and that they are accepted by Him!  If they knew My Christ, and I say mine because so many churches teach a false Christ and a false gospel.  If they knew the Christ of the Bible, they would not be so hurt.   I was lucky enough to share the Gospel with dozens of these people and I pray God uses that to soften their hearts and open their eyes.  I never tell anyone Christ is the answer to their financial problems or He will cure their illness, that is for the Pentecostals.  I refuse to preach on the Divine Vending Machine Christ who is there to grant our wishes!   


  But friends, my Christ, well He has a way of filling your heart with love, He has a way of filling your mind with content and He has a way of filling your soul with peace and calmness.   I am not going to lie and tell you I never worry, I do, just not very often.  But I can tell you that without the knowledge of being forgiven, I would have cracked long ago.   You know, when I think of the lost, those who do not know Christ as Savior, my heart breaks for them.  It really does, I cannot imagine going through this harsh world without Him.  Being a pilgrim I know this is not my home, but to many people, this forsaken place is the closest they will ever come to Heaven and for me, well, it is the closest I will ever come to Hell.  That my friends, breaks my heart. I want everyone to know the Christ I fell in love with.   The Christ who found me when I was looking for sin, He found me and He saved me, He converted me, He regenerated me!   I love this Christ so much!   


  I am going long again and maybe off topic, but think about this, all these hurting people, these people who for many, have given up on life, on ever being happy, who have given up on the prospect of Joy, well, they are so close, just a Gospel away.  Maybe that is why God still to this day uses the feet of His adopted children to carry the Gospel!  Maybe, since these people are just that, "People", we are to go them on their grounds, maybe we are to walk to them and to stand on these feet, these lovely feet and we are to share the Good News, of Christ and how only He can bridge the gap between us and God.  Maybe since we are creatures that crave and need closeness, who need friendship and most of all love, then maybe we are to forget the phones, flyers, commercials and radio programs, forget the books and big time ministries and all the impersonal gizmo's and  simply walk up to them upon our feet and show them the love of Christ.   So, those dirty, smelly feet, like mine and maybe like yours dear reader, well, they can deliver this Good News of Christ, of my Christ and of your Christ.  These feet for centuries have carried the Gospel, today mine did just that.   How beautiful are your feet friend?   If they are not so hot, try taking the Gospel out into the streets, you might just find your feet are pretty strong and lovely after all.   


Be Holy!
Shane