Fashioned Feet
Feet. What do you think about yours? Are you blessed with perfect tootsies? Or like me, you have trouble finding comfy yet fashionable shoes? Most of the summer, I try to complement my extra wide feet with a pretty polish color hoping to distract from their gargantuan size. (I guess I could say that I have a firm foundation?!) But, as the summer days fade, and the autumn winds are beginning to blow in, it is time to consider covering my feet. I am noticing the chill that spreads across the floors of my home and want to protect my feet from the change in weather. In some ways, I am glad to cover and conceal their ridiculousness! I’m ready to exchange the sandals, espadrilles, and flip-flops for socks, boots, and slippers! However, if I move past my carnal self, and take a minute to study my feet with a spiritual perspective, I realize the greater importance of why God gave us feet.
1. We are to use those feet to walk with Him.
I love the character, Enoch. Genesis 5:22-24 gives us a quick glimpse of his life. He lived hundreds of years and “he walked with God.”
“Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.”
Enoch walked with God 365 YEARS. Can we walk with God 365 DAYS? Physical walking is a methodical and deliberate series of movements. It is an intentional placing of one foot in front of the other while coordinating the hips, arms, eye movement, and brain firings all at the same time. Walking with God is just as intentional. It requires desire and direction. Drive and purpose. Flexibility to slow when He slows or speed up if He accelerates through various legs of the journey. I want it to be said of me and my wide feet that I “walked with God!”
2. We are to walk with peace.
Ephesians 6:13-17 calls us to put on the full armor of God. In vs. 15, it mentions how to dress our feet.
“For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.”
As carriers of His Gospel, we must walk in peace to be prepared for spiritual battle and to be ready that the Word will be accepted as we go. I haven’t heard of many conversions that were a result of a yelling match of spiritual laws! It’s His kindness that leads to repentance (Rom 2:4) and that certainly is aided by peace in the Spirit. Consider when Jesus sent out the 12 disciples and His 70 followers to minister. Their feet did a lot of walking. He instructed them to go out and find homes of peace. If they were not accepted, then they were to shake the dust from their sandals and move on (Matt 10:14).
3. We are to wash feet.
When I mentor women who are contemplating ministry, I challenge them to “wash people’s feet.” To some, ministry can seem glamorous for odd reasons ‘til you get on your knee, loosen someone’s sandal, dig out their toe jams and scrub the dirt away. In doing so, you understand their stories. What may seem like a terrible task becomes a beautiful foot bath of redemption or restoration. Jesus, the King, washed feet. He, the ultimate leader, led by serving. He reminds His disciples in John to do the same for others.
“And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.” John 13:14-15
Have you recently washed anyone’s feet? If we are to follow the Lord’s example of servant leadership, go get some water, soap, and a towel and ask Him to show you who needs a pedicure.
4. We are to walk in authority.
In both Matthew and Luke's accounts when Jesus sent out His friends to learn to put into practice all He that He had taught them, He reminded them of their authority. As a follower of Christ, the authority we have access to has not diminished just because Jesus physically left the earth. We have the same access the disciples did. Jesus’ blood paid for our healing, our freedom, and our salvation.
“Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!” Matt 10:7-8
So, let’s get to the ‘sole’ idea here. Walk with God, walk with His peace strapped upon your feet, wash other’s feet, and walk in the authority given to you in Jesus’ name!
