Last week we looked at what Jesus called a beautiful thing (Matthew 26:10). This week I was struck by what God considers beautiful feet according to Romans 10:15. And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!

I can still remember my first serious discussion about the qualities of beautiful feet with my friend Brenda when we were teenagers. One day while lying by the pool one of us brought up whose feet were the ugliest—in typical adolescent fashion each wanted to claim her own as the most hideous of all. Brenda’s were smaller, but her toes were square shaped, kind of like Fred Flintstone toes we decided. My feet were bigger—thus less attractive, but the toes decreased in size proportionately and the shape was less square, so I guess I had to concede that my feet were more beautiful. That didn’t equate with more dates than her, but it was a small victory.

I really don’t like feet very much. Anyone who is close to me knows that I can be a little melodramatic when someone’s foot surface or toes touch any part of my body. Unfortunately, this secret knowledge only seems to bring ideas to some members of my family. Once I received Brenda’s declaration that I had beautiful feet, I think it went to my head and I found myself judging other people’s feet. I have to admit that in the early years of our marriage, I didn’t find my husband’s feet attractive, although I thoroughly loved the rest of him. All that changed one day when we were taking part in a get-to-know-you exercise at a marriage retreat. All the men took off their shoes and hid behind a sheet in a long line-up. The wives were told to recognize their husband by his feet. Whew, I had no idea how many ugly feet there were in the world until that day. I found Brian’s feet right away and now consider them to be far above average.

On the day I read from Romans 10, my feet were fresh on my mind. I had indeed fallen far from the foot goddess of the past. My feet were a complete mess. I had been out of town at a conference and I didn’t bring comfortable shoes to wear in-between so I had worn high heels from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. with a little shopping trip included—my feet were hard and calloused and my ankles were in pain. I give myself a pedicure at home once a month and this was the end of the last month’s treatment. In addition to that, I had one toenail super-glued on and, suffice it to say, I was no longer feeling up to par when it came to having beautiful feet.

That was the time that God chose to remind me what beautiful feet are all about. Whatever criteria Brenda and I came up with at fifteen years old pales in comparison to what God considers beautiful. Anyone can have beautiful feet when they have feet that bring good news. My feet are beautiful not when I get a professional pedicure, but when I share about my relationship with Jesus.

I hope I haven’t made you feel self-conscious about your own feet. I hope reading this helps you think about the most recent time that you shared how much God means to you with others and you can look down and proclaim, I have beautiful feet.
I really do have beautiful feet because I have been bringing good news to others. I hope the same for you.