Beautiful Feet:What Love Really Means

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth in Zion, Thy God reigneth! (Isaiah 52: 7)

No, these are not the feet that are pampered and treated for a regular pedicure and foot spa and lavished with rich, fragrant creams until they become pinkish and oh-so-soft-and-smooth!

These are the sandaled, suntanned, dusty feet that walk miles and miles, over rugged mountains and hills, across rivers, streams, and forests. They are usually rough and calloused, and have never been treated for a pedicure, let alone for a foot spa.

These are the feet that, though weary and aching, would still go another step, thinking that there may still be a soul out there needing liberation, relief, healing. A soul that sits in darkness and pain, awaiting that glorious day when it sees those beautiful feet upon the mountain, hoping and believing, Could this be the one that brings good tidings of peace and healing?

These are the feet which the Lord Jesus Christ would willingly kneel down for and lovingly wash with water to show and set an example, that to be a true follower of Him really means to be a servant to others, that is, to live ministering to others as He had done when He walked on earth.

He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, EVEN AS HE WALKED. (1 John 2:6, emphasis added)

A true disciple of Jesus Christ walks where He walked: among the poor, the sick, the weak, the marginalized, and the lost. Living in almost complete anonymity (he only lifts the name of the Lord!) and stark simplicity, he goes to bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth, in danger of inclement weather or the burning heat of the sun; in danger of rebels, thugs or wild beasts.

I’m not trying to picture here a scenario that had happened during the time of the early apostles, nor am I talking about something that’s no longer happening. I’m descibing these things based on accounts and testimonies of the beloved workers of our Church. Yes, true disciples the likes of the early apostles still exist today.

I think I may never forget this story related to our family and office staff by a preacher in our Church during a Bible Study when I was still a baby-in-Christ:

These beloved full-time workers in the Lord’s vineyard had been assigned in far-flung barrios in different provinces, places where in some instances, there was no electricity, and neighbors’ houses are far from each other. One day, they were called to visit a man who had leprosy. Without hesitation, the beloved workers went to his house. The family had isolated him in a hut far from the main house. The man’s disease had spread throughout his body, he had grown thin, and could hardly move and walk. The workers shared to him the Gospel and explained the four keys of salvation. Then they asked the family if there was a river nearby where they could baptize the poor man. No. There wasn’t any river, or any body of water nearby.

The workers were faced with the problem: how would they baptize the man, completely immersing him in water? They thought hard until they came up with this idea: they were going to dig a pit wide enough to contain him, then fill it up with water from the well. When they were almost done digging, the leprous man saw it, and he wept. The workers carried him to the pit filled with water, and they baptized him in the name of Jesus. The workers did not abhor the man’s open wounds and deteriorating body, but showed God’s love and mercy. Halleluiah!

When the man came out of the water, he felt revived and stronger, and his wounds had instantly started to heal and dry. He told the workers that he was weeping because he thought they were digging up his grave. As it turned out, he was wrong, but then, spiritually, he had been buried with Jesus Christ in baptism and came out with newness of life (Rom. 6:4).

That’s the beauty of serving the Lord and bringing the Gospel to places other people would do their best to avoid. Salvation, relief, healing, mercy, love – don’t these declare the magnificent beauty and glory of the Lord? No marvel that the prophet Isaiah described even the feet of those that “bring these glad tidings of good things!” (Rom. 15) as BEAUTIFUL! The feet that walked the miles to bring the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ, even to a leprous man who is greatly dreaded, are beautiful!

Have we walked as Jesus walked and where He walked? Have we walked the miles, traveled through valleys and over hills, and forded rivers to share the Gospel to the lost? Or have we walked the corridors of hospital wards or prison cells and brought the Gospel – Jesus’ salvation and healing – to the sick and the suffering and the bound?

(Loving and gentle whisper): Would we, sincerely and honestly, like to have feet shod with beauty bringing glad tidings of good things in any way we can by the power of the Holy Spirit?

Endnotes:

Testimony as related by beloved Bro. Noli Barredo, a preacher of JMCIM.

This post is linked to Walk With Him Wednesdays at A Holy Experience, Spiritual Sundays