Devotion for December 3: Beautiful Feet How can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news! (Romans 10:15) Have you ever seen feet that were beautiful? Very few people claim to have beautiful feet. People normally hide their feet, because they’re ugly. Their toes are crooked. They may have corns and bunions, blisters and calluses, even athlete’s foot. People who walk long distances talk about aching feet. People who wear dirty sneakers prompt complaints about smelly feet. But very few people talk about beautiful feet. The apostle Paul tells us that anyone who shares Jesus with others has beautiful feet. And it’s not that their feet are more beautiful than the rest of them, but that their whole beings are beautiful because they bring good news. There’s no better news than the gospel. Though sin erected an impenetrable wall between you and God, Jesus won forgiveness for you and tore down that wall. Though death terrified you and held you in its powerful grip, Jesus conquered death. What could be better news than to hear that heaven awaits you? There’s no need to mourn that this life isn’t perfect, because a perfect life awaits you in heaven. That is the good news that your pastors and teachers bring. That’s why their feet are beautiful! Consider how your pastors and teachers come to you. Jesus sends them! Your great Prophet Jesus doesn’t appear to you directly to speak words of encouragement. He sends others in his place. He wants you to listen to those he sends, to love them and respect them. When Jesus sent out his 72 disciples, he told them, “He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me” (Luke 10:16). Those words of Jesus still apply today. When your pastors and teachers proclaim the gospel of God’s forgiveness to you, it’s as if Jesus himself were speaking. It’s easy to forget that our called workers were chosen and sent by Jesus. The people Jesus sends are human. They have weaknesses and flaws. They make mistakes and commit sins. Like the believers of old, however, they are saints and sinners at the same time. The apostle Paul once called God’s workers “jars of clay” (2 Corinthians 4:7). Think of the red clay pots a gardener uses. They’re not pretty, and they’re not strong. Yet they do the job. In this way, Paul acknowledged how weak, fragile, and easily broken God’s messengers are. They’re not above constructive criticism. They’re not above discouragement. Yet, because Jesus sends them, they are his representatives. Pray for the called workers in your congregation. Support them. Love them, and respect them. You may not know why the Savior sent one person and not another to serve you, but he knows what is best. Because Jesus sends them and because they bring you the good news of the gospel, their feet are beautiful. Prayer: Lord, bless the called workers who bring me the good news of your forgiveness. Lead me to consider them to be your representatives. Help me love them and believe the good news they bring. Amen. From The Lords Anointed, by Lyle Luchterhand © 2009 Northwestern Publishing House. All rights reserved
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 02:30:00 +0000
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