I had the good fortune to accompany middle and high schoolers to summer church camp. One of my roles was to serve as camp medical personnel. Generally, this role consists of handing out band-aids, headache remedies, and assuring students that they are not going to die from minor scrapes or from the stomach aches that follow an entire day of binging on junk food.
This year, however, I found myself managing blisters, patching up, wrapping up, and digging into FEET. In the first 2 days alone, I saw 6 feet that needed attention. It dawned on me that the smallest interruption, on the lowest part of our body, can create such pain and/or angst that it distracts us from being able to focus on the task at hand. A splinter, a sprain, or a split stops us in our tracks.
Just as a tiny problem causes a big interruption in our activity, so it is with sin in our lives. A small sin, left unchecked, can dig into our day-to-day happenings. The sin then gets bigger, festers, and eventually consumes our attention, and we divert from what is truly important.
Perhaps this is the message Jesus was trying to get across to the disciples when he knelt and washed their feet at the Last Supper. When you care for your feet, there is less chance of being hindered from walking your path. He tells Peter that when you wash your feet, your whole body is clean. (John 13:10) This may have been a metaphor for continually being aware of and repenting of sin and holding each other accountable when He commanded them to wash each other’s feet. This also reminded them to stay humble as they served and helped others walk in obedience.
Isaiah 52:7 and Romans 10:15 say “beautiful are the feet that bring good news.” A Pharisee named Simon became incensed when a “sinful woman” touched Jesus by washing His feet with her tears and her hair. Jesus rebuked Simon because he had ignored the custom to wash your guests’ feet when He arrived. (It was insinuated that feet were beneath Simon. 😉) Jesus said that the woman had done the better thing. According to the verses in Isaiah and Romans, Jesus had the most beautiful feet of all, for He WAS the Good News! His sweet feet would soon bear the nails He took on our behalf!
When we are given our defensive and offensive spiritual armor and weapons in Ephesians 6, we are told to keep our “feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” (v. 15) God equips even our feet, which, when prepared and available, can carry us on a mission, help us advance against the enemy, or retreat when we need to flee. They can also be weapons, should we need them to help us fight.
My equipment for the feet this week was magnifying glasses to see the tiny offenders, needles to dig them out, peroxide to cleanse, band-aids and braces to keep clean and stabilize. None of them comfortable, but all of them effective in promoting healing to bring the feet back to full service.
Healthy feet allow us to walk the daily paths that the Lord has for us. We ought to continue to use the equipment the Lord provides: His Word to illuminate what sin needs to be removed, prayer and Godly community to help us dig it out and hold us accountable, as well as to stabilize us in humility. This equipment allows us to fully serve Him in righteousness. When we present ourselves to the Lord cleansed and ready, He can use us to bring the Good News to a hurting and hungry world.
