Isaiah 52: 7
how beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
proclaim peace, bring God's good tidings
and proclaim salvation!
Our feet symbolize the tools for practical actions "which bring good news"
about the Gospel. Have you ever thickened your face to distribute church pamphlets to strangers by the street, or walked from house to house to tell about an evangelical service in the neighborhood? My view is, that action does more to edify the doer than the hearer.
I would highlight several situations to invoke your passion for better servitude:
- O Feet, to the Shadowed Corners-
Hidden in the shadows of the chapel, some are trying their best to stay "low-profile". Yet, they still desire to be loved. Most Asians are shy and, many are anti-social in TJC.
Ask yourself, don't you want someone to actually understand your problems and needs? Instead of waiting to be loved, you can and should start to rekindle love among your spiritual family, starting from yourself to love others.
If I hadn't taken the effort to observe, I wouldn't notice an old aunty who can't find the bible page and she desperately needs help for it. In fact, I myself was unfamiliar with bible chapters but by helping this aunty to flip the bible, I learned to flip fast for the right page.
If you hadn't reached out on Facebook to ask "hallelujah, how is it going?"
you wouldn't know how much a brother or sister needed to be cared.
Regardless of age (youths or elder), background, language, there is no barrier in love,
but there are only excuses.
So, where do your feet go to at church? Was it the love feast in the kitchen, or the self-indulgent Candy Crush on your phone during boring sermons? Or simply, your feet find it comfy just staying wherever they are, doing absolutely nothing for God?
- O Feet, to the House of Mourning -
I have a friend who lost his dear sibling due to a deadly disease.
Due to lack of help, I assisted him with a simple funeral (not a Christian funeral).
There were not a couple of visitors at the funeral parlour and we withstood the scorching Malaysian heat of the day with rarely anyone to come for comfort.
That is the first time I felt that we really needed comfort and support
from people's attendance.
I personally pictured in my mind, how wonderful would it be
if my dear brothers and sisters in Christ could come visit us,
although my friend was just a truthseeker.
The following day, another church memorial service took place somewhere else.
The family members were not zealous Christians.
But at the end of the service, it was an uncle's turn to represent the family for a few words.
"I thank you, for your coming" he swallowed his emotion, "thank you for bringing us back to Jesus."
- O Feet, to the House of the Sick-
When the young student fellowship first headed out for the first visiting in a crammed Proton Satria, we had some names on the list, both believers and unbelievers. We visited my neighbour, a bed-ridden old uncle in the hospital. We simply went with smiles and wishes, and had a prayer with his consent, for his recovery.
To our surprise, a big manly uncle as he had always been, he cried.Love nourishes the heart of the sick, and laughter brings healing (Proverbs 17:22).
Simply because, it was his time of need and we were there for him, bringing God's love with us.
Peter was reluctant at first to go to Cornelius' house, as he said to Cornelius, "you are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him", but God sent him there and Peter would "discipline" his feet to go there, probably against his ideals.
God manifested His great power, showering the Holy Spirit upon the Gentiles.
It is not easy to control our feet to perform God's work.
Regardless, it is a spiritual battle that we have to consciously fight, with discipline against our fleshly desires for pleasurable things, instead of for lethargic work. I know how that feels, but let's work it out together.
Send our feet where the Lord sends us.
