Last week Tobey and I took the kids to Jungle Jim’s, our local international grocery that is, in point of fact, one part geography lesson, one part zoology lesson, one part aquarium, one part farm field-trip, and two or three parts carnival all rolled into one. We bought German chocolate and whole sugar cane. We ate Ostrich jerky (animal lovers should probably just skip the rest of this paragraph!). And we saw some animal parts that just aren’t supposed to be seen without fur and feathers on them … pig brains, a platter of duck heads (not the khaki’s!), and a carton full of chicken feet.
I had never seen chicken feet before – not in a grocery store, anyway! And it got me to thinking … why would anyone want to eat chicken feet? There surely can’t be much meet on those tiny little metatarsals! And they are just downright ugly, too! In fact, why would anyone want to eat the feet of anything? Feet – even human feet – are one of those body parts that just don’t usually make us sit up and call them beautiful. They are not the first thing on a woman’s list of attractive qualities she’d like to find in her future husband, are they? Muscles? Probably. Eyes? Usually. Teeth? Perhaps. But feet? Not usually high on the list … and for good reason!
And so (I know I am weird) it struck me as unusually noteworthy that Paul would say, in Romans 10.14: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news”! Beautiful … feet? Two words that we don’t normally hear together. And yet here they are, side-by-side. And, though I am sure Paul did not pause to consider the strangeness of the phrase (I’m probably the only bizarro who ever has) … I find Romans 10.14 another example of how different God’s ways often are from our own!
What do we look for when we consider beauty? Form and face. Eyes. Pearly white teeth. And the list could go on (indeed, it does in The Song of Solomon). But when God looks at us, “He doesn’t look at the outward appearance”. He looks at the heart … and strangely enough, at “the feet”! That is what makes the Christian beautiful … a heart that loves God fully, and its neighbor as itself; and feet that love the gospel, and carry it to work, to school, to the ballgame, to the family picnic, and to the ends of the earth! “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news”!
How long do you spend in front of the mirror each day – making sure your hair is in the right place; making sure your mascara is not clumped on the ends of your eye lashes; making sure you have just enough blush, but not too much; making sure your you didn’t miss any spots with your razor, and so on? How long? I’m not here to criticize! I like a clean shave, too! But when you are standing at the vanity (interesting name!) … ask yourself this: ‘Will my feet be beautiful today? Will I bring glad tidings of great joy to the people I encounter today?’
In fact, let me just ask you: Is there someone in your life, right now, toward whom you know those lovely feet of yours ought to be moving? Someone with whom you know God has given you opportunity to speak for Jesus, whose feet were pierced for our transgressions? Then get those feet of yours going! Make them beautiful this week … for Jesus!
I had never seen chicken feet before – not in a grocery store, anyway! And it got me to thinking … why would anyone want to eat chicken feet? There surely can’t be much meet on those tiny little metatarsals! And they are just downright ugly, too! In fact, why would anyone want to eat the feet of anything? Feet – even human feet – are one of those body parts that just don’t usually make us sit up and call them beautiful. They are not the first thing on a woman’s list of attractive qualities she’d like to find in her future husband, are they? Muscles? Probably. Eyes? Usually. Teeth? Perhaps. But feet? Not usually high on the list … and for good reason!
And so (I know I am weird) it struck me as unusually noteworthy that Paul would say, in Romans 10.14: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news”! Beautiful … feet? Two words that we don’t normally hear together. And yet here they are, side-by-side. And, though I am sure Paul did not pause to consider the strangeness of the phrase (I’m probably the only bizarro who ever has) … I find Romans 10.14 another example of how different God’s ways often are from our own!
What do we look for when we consider beauty? Form and face. Eyes. Pearly white teeth. And the list could go on (indeed, it does in The Song of Solomon). But when God looks at us, “He doesn’t look at the outward appearance”. He looks at the heart … and strangely enough, at “the feet”! That is what makes the Christian beautiful … a heart that loves God fully, and its neighbor as itself; and feet that love the gospel, and carry it to work, to school, to the ballgame, to the family picnic, and to the ends of the earth! “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news”!
How long do you spend in front of the mirror each day – making sure your hair is in the right place; making sure your mascara is not clumped on the ends of your eye lashes; making sure you have just enough blush, but not too much; making sure your you didn’t miss any spots with your razor, and so on? How long? I’m not here to criticize! I like a clean shave, too! But when you are standing at the vanity (interesting name!) … ask yourself this: ‘Will my feet be beautiful today? Will I bring glad tidings of great joy to the people I encounter today?’
In fact, let me just ask you: Is there someone in your life, right now, toward whom you know those lovely feet of yours ought to be moving? Someone with whom you know God has given you opportunity to speak for Jesus, whose feet were pierced for our transgressions? Then get those feet of yours going! Make them beautiful this week … for Jesus!
4 comments:
Kurt, I must comment on the chicken feet...I'll never forget the first time Mike went on a mission trip--way down into mexico--and was served chicken feet..in a stew of sorts...he may not have actually eaten the feet, tho he was always adventuresome when in that type of setting--and thoughtful of the feelings of others. Anyway, he brought back a photo of his friend from there actually eating one,(so we would believe him.) And guess what? My mother then told how my daddy had often had to eat chicken feet as a boy because they didn't have anything else...it gave my taste buds a reality check for sure.
Your post was good. Right on target for us in this day of 'beauty/vanity consuming so much of us'.
That we might hasten toward Him Who is our Lovely One... Kathy
ps maybe feet weren't 'high on my list of things to look for in a husband', but Mike's feet were always somehow so especially wonderful...I've kept a pair of his most often worn Sunday shoes beside a chair in my b'room since he's been gone...many good and helpful thoughts and memories have come from them during these four years.
Thanks for the encouragement, Ms. Kathy ... and for the good story! Who knew chicken feet were so popular?
And Mike's shoes ... all the more beautiful, I am sure, because they were, specifically, the ones he wore when he brought "good news." May all of our feet be that loved and missed; and that full of lessons and memories.
Looking forward to seeing you all in July. Could we come home from church with you on Sunday, the 18th ... and leave for Cincinnati from your place on Monday AM?
O yes, yes, yes!!! We'd rejoice to have you...are honored you'd work it in. May tomorrow be a 'red-letter' day for us all--a day when God speaks and we listen..with intent to obey. Kathy
I've had chicken feet in Chinese cuisine on the West coast - delicious! Also, they are essential to making good bone broth. They leave it with a lot of gelatin, which is unbelievably good for the gut. Also, they are a regular part of my dogs' raw diet. :)
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