Are your feet beautiful?

Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion! Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for the uncircumcised and the unclean shall enter you no more. Shake yourself from the dust, rise up, O captive Jerusalem; loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter Zion! For thus says the LORD: You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money. For thus says the Lord GOD: Long ago, my people went down into Egypt to reside there as aliens; the Assyrian, too, has oppressed them without cause. Now therefore what am I doing here, says the LORD, seeing that my people are taken away without cause? Their rulers howl, says the LORD, and continually, all day long, my name is despised. Therefore my people shall know my name; therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here am I. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns." Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices, together they sing for joy; for in plain sight they see the return of the LORD to Zion. Break forth together into singing, you ruins of Jerusalem; for the LORD has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of it, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the LORD. For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight; for the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard. Isaiah 52: 1-12 (NRSV)

I had a friend once who was in missionary service. She sent out monthly newsletters with this theme. At the top she had pictures of feet as her header. I thought it was the most interesting concept ever. Because usually one does not think much about our feet until they hurt or it is summer and you want to wear sandles. Yet, to God even our feet are beautiful if they are bearers of his salvation, good news and peace.

Another picture [according to the Expositor's commentary] is to think of a city under siege. Off in the distance a watchman sees a runner speeding across the land carrying the great message that "Salvation is on its way! Peace is on its way! There will soon be no more suffering; soon there will be healing! Good news is on its way!" The watchman and the people under siege are so happy that they think the message, the messanger and even his feet are glorious.

One thing though...in order for the messenger to be able to run and give this good news that runner has to have feet in good condition for running [well, the whole body obviously but I am sticking to what is mentioned specifically in the verse].  One has to take care of it, keep it clean, trim the nails, treat any infections and so on. Same way with our spiritual message - our witness can bring good news of peace and salvation to those around us but only if we keep walking with God. This means being open and sensitive to his Spirit, prayer, reading the bible, being his hands of love, mercy and grace, and putting God first in our life.

Pray for God's Spirit to help you everyday to have such a walk and witness that others can say "how beautiful...are [your] feet that brings the message of salvation..."