Few people typically put the two words “beautiful” and “feet” together. Feet are functional and forgotten unless something doesn’t work. There probably wasn’t a significant difference in perspective in ancient times. Feet were even more prominent for movement in a time with no powered transportation, always worn and dirty. The prophet Isaiah prophesied hope years before there was a need for hope for a return from exile, and used the picture of beautiful feet to remind us that all people long to hear good news:
“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” (Isa. 52:7 NIV).
Consider for a moment the last time you received good news during a difficult season. How did you respond—with joy, relief, excitement? At the same time, our news feeds are often filled with bad news, and encouraging stories of hope are increasingly difficult to find. Our world continues to need peace, good news, and salvation.
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost” (Isa. 55:1).
Rosedale Network of Churches continues to focus on our mature and multiply vision. One of our prominent values is urgency, and a key passage supporting that value is Isaiah 55:1. It reminds us that people are hungry for God, but as the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 10:14-15, how can a person be saved unless they call on Jesus, and how can the call be heard, or hear unless someone preaches, or preach unless someone sends? Then, he references the beautiful feet of a person bringing good news.
On this journey of life, we continue to need the beautiful feet of fellow believers who bring the good news of the gospel into our lives.
The years and centuries have not changed the need for people around us to hear good news. We who carry the Spirit of Jesus within us have a message of hope that our neighbors need to hear. Our world has a desperate need for the gospel to touch every corner and people with not just beautiful feet, but hearts of compassion to take it there. Carrying the good news to people who do not know Jesus fits well with the multiply portion, but people within our network and its churches also need good news. The gospel is not simply good news for salvation but is just as impactful for us who continue to live our new lives in a broken world.
I want to encourage you to consider how beautiful feet can be impactful in our maturing vision. Brothers and sisters in the family of God have an indispensable role in speaking life and hope into each other’s lives. When we walk with each other through tough times and seasons, we encourage each other. When we carry each other’s burdens, we can share a message of strength and restoration through the cross. On this journey of life, we continue to need the beautiful feet of fellow believers who bring the good news of the gospel into our lives; in short, we need the gospel daily.
One of the things I look forward to at the annual Multiply Conference is the opportunity to encourage and to be encouraged by brothers and sisters in Christ. I look forward to worshiping and sharing the good news together in central Pennsylvania at Multiply in just a few short weeks. How beautiful on the mountains of Pennsylvania will be the feet of those who proclaim the gospel and declare “our God reigns.” Who is God asking you to bring good news to in the next few weeks?
Photo credit: pexels.com/vitalygariev
