Do you ever think that your feet look funny? I happen to have a genetic condition which causes my toes to stick out at an angle from the front of my foot, rather than pointing forward (like normal people’s toes do). I apologize if this is gross for you (the rest of the article gets better, I promise), but as you might imagine, I don’t wear a lot of sandals or flip-flops.
While I can’t really do much to change how things look (other than surgery, but that’s not really necessary for me), there is a way to make all of our feet worthy of celebration: we can use them (or whatever else we have, like a car, a bus pass, or technology) to get out and spread the good news about Jesus Christ.
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Romans 10:14-15 NIV
I like the flow of logic here. In my own words:
- To believe in something, you must hear about it. Now, God has given us a lot of ways to listen, and I believe that He can work in ways that aren’t necessarily verbal, but the gospel is still often passed from one person to another through being spoken.
- To hear about something, someone must tell you about it. Whether we hear or read the words that give us the good news, God placed the church on this earth as a means by which His word could be spread throughout the world.
- For dedicated evangelists to tell others the good news, they must be enabled to do so. A commentator (Cottrell) sees this being sent as ordination, rather than support. In that sense, being sent is a commission. Not everyone who wants to be a missionary, though, has supporters who will help take care of their physical needs if they were to stop working for financial income and go into full-time ministry. Not everyone who wants to be a pastor can earn a living at it. However, there is a time and a place (actually, many times and many places) where those who have extra resources should be sharing with those who are spreading God’s word.
And, if we run this logic backwards, we also learn that we can potentially help at every step:
- We can support others who are sharing the good news, whether by giving to a church, or by supporting evangelists directly.
- We can tell others about the good news of Jesus. Telling other people about Jesus is not limited to those who are in “full-time ministry”, nor is it confined to those who get paid or are supported by others to do so.
- We also need to hear the gospel for ourselves. While I hope that you have heard the news about Jesus Christ many times, there could be some people who are reading this who haven’t heard it. (Please contact me, or a trusted Christian friend or pastor, if you have any questions about this good news. A lot of information about God’s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ can be found by reading the book of Romans in the Bible. If you decide to read that book, you can start at the first chapter via this link: Romans 1.)
- Finally, we must believe in the truth of the gospel, and call “on the name of the Lord” (verse 13). If someone has never heard the good news about Jesus, that is sad indeed, but even more sorrowful is the person who has heard the news and chooses not to believe and act upon it.
And, don’t skip steps, here: Before you complain that someone doesn’t believe in Jesus, check to see whether or not they have heard the good news about Him, in a way that they can understand and relate to. If not, you may be the one whom God has selected to tell them about Jesus.
If you are disappointed that people haven’t heard the gospel, ask yourself whether or not there is anyone in their lives to tell them. Again, don’t delegate to others what you could do yourself, if God gives you the right opportunity.
And, if you learn that there are people who don’t have anyone to tell them about Jesus, along with God’s gracious gifts of justification and salvation, consider whether God is calling you to do something about it. Maybe you need to help support others – whether we call them missionaries, evangelists, preachers, or just other healthy, mature Christians – as they spread the word, through providing money, prayer, and/or encouragement. Or, maybe God is calling you to get involved in other people’s lives, become their friends, and show them just how much you love them by explaining to them how they can live the amazing life that God created them for in the first place.
Too many people need to hear the good news, that there’s no need for any of our feet (whether literally or figuratively) to be left out of the important work of sharing it.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for February 27, 2022
References:
- The Lookout, February 27, 2022, © 2022 Christian Standard Media.
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press Commentary, Romans, Volume 2, by Jack Cottrell. College Press Publishing Company, © 1998.
Those Who Sin Differently 