“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news…” Isaiah 52:7
You may be old enough to remember Imelda Marcos who was the First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. She was known for having more shoes than anyone would ever dream of having. She traveled the world buying expensive shoes. Her name became synonymous for people with large shoe collections because when she fled to Hawaii, she left more than 1,000 pairs of shoes and 800 handbags in Malacañang Palace. The exact number she owned was estimated to be over 3,000. Talk about abundance and excess. For me I remember those old Chuck Taylor HiTop Converse – and of course the white ones. But really a thought from Scripture about shoes – YES.
Shoes play a prominent role in a number of Bible stories. God told Moses to take off his shoes… Exodus 3:5 “Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” John reminds his followers in John 1:27 “It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”
But think about this. The Apostle Paul uses the picture of putting on shoes with the sharing of the Gospel. Ephesians 6:15 “…and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” He’s describing the “armor of God” every follower of Jesus must put on daily. The sharing of the Gospel is an active not passive endeavor. Shoes symbolize movement and progress. Have you thought about your own personal progress of growing in Christ?