This church needs a pediatrist

photo by elaine johnson

But how can they call on Him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about Him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who announce the gospel of good things! But all did not obey the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our message? So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.

Since my spinal cord injury in 2003 my feet are a constant source of concern. I have almost no feeling in my feet and i cant move my toes at all. Since I have no feeling I have been known to step on a piece of glass and not even know it until Susan, asks what all this blood on the floor is. Not pretty at least by human standards. However, according to Romans 10 (above) My feet are beautiful simply because they carry out the function of taking me to places that need some good news, namely the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is good to know that even though my feet are not the most presentable of my body parts, God finds them to be beautiful. Why does he find them beautiful? One reason, Obedience to his command to take the gospel to all nations.

How about your feet? I will tell you that though we disciples of Jesus were given a very simple command (see Matt 28:18-20), there are very few beautiful feet to be found among us. We go about our daily lives keeping Jesus to ourselves. If we were truly to believe the good news about Jesus, we would be compelled to tell people about Him. But I am convinced that our churches are either filled with unbelievers or ugly feeted disobedient cowards. For if they had truly been changed by this good news, if their lives had been turned inside out because of the grace supplied by Jesus Christ, they could do nothing else but rearrange their priorities and do whatever it takes to make His name known in every corner of the earth. It is not a special calling for a select few but a natural reaction to Amazing grace!

So you can go to your church on Sunday morning and see all of the fancy shoes worn by people who profess to be disciples of Jesus. But underneath the facsade of beauty you will find quite a collection of ugly feet. It is like a modern day version of the Whitewashed tombs of the Pharisees. But it doesn’t have to be that way, If you truly believe that Jesus is who he said he was, If he truly changed your life just tell people about it. At your workplace, in your home, write an email, tell a stranger, or maybe you could even go to a strange land that hasn’t heard any good news in a long time. That is the prescription for ugly feet.