Spiritual Director · December 12, 2016

Affirm #19

Well, we all have them. They come in pairs. One on the right side, the other on the left side. Now, that clue alone, probably causes you to think of all your body parts. You’re thinking, “Is he talking about my ears? My eyes? How about my cheeks?” Those would be items we’d consider talking about. I’m mean, just look at any magazine and see the importance of facial appearance. Everybody’s face is perfect, or at least it seems to be.

I could be talking about your arms, you know, the big guns. Or maybe your hands. Have you noticed: some people have very nice hands, slender and straight. Others of us have more like sausages, and even some fingers that don’t work anymore.

Or, I could be talking about your hips or knees, but those aren’t real big talkative items, at least not in my world. You don’t hear guys sitting around talking about their hips or knees, unless they’re in pain.

So, that only leaves one more body part, your feet. And the truth is, we don’t talk much about feet unless we make reference to them in some derogatory fashion like: gnarly, stinky, cold, achy. Not many of us want anybody looking at our feet and I’m pretty sure there are only a handful who would actually interview for a job as a foot model. I may go to the first interview, but chances are, I wouldn’t get a second interview.

But there’s hope! Hope for you to be listed as a person with beautiful feet. It has nothing to do with appearance. It has nothing to do with whether your toes are straight, or if you’re fungus free. It does have everything to do with where they go and what they do.

Read this:

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger bringing good news, breaking news that all’s well, proclaiming good times, announcing salvation, telling Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’” —Isaiah 52:7

These beautiful feet belongs to the man or woman who brings good news.

Everybody I know likes to hear good news. But this just isn’t any old good news. No, this is the Good news that God our Father sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to atone for the sins of all people, including you and me. It’s the Good News that because of God’s love for us and His free gift of grace, that offer is available to anybody, and I mean anybody.

But here’s the challenge,

“But how can people call for help if they don’t know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven’t heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it?” — Romans 10:14-15

Here’s my word of encouragement for you today

Those feet… those beautiful feet… belong to you. Go tells those who need some Good News today that our God reigns.

Father,
Here am I, send me! In Jesus name, Amen.

—Rev. Dr. MM Marxhausen

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Mark was Spiritual Director for VdC from 2016 to 2019. He's written many of the devotions, especially the Devote and Affirm series, found on this website.