Encouragement

STILL STANDING

by Christian Belyea
01/31/19
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     Although He was meek, His heart followed His mighty feet.  Neither Satan nor anyone could gain a dirty foothold in His walk of faith.  That man was Christ.  God in the flesh.  And His sandaled feet were not smooth and silky as kings’ feet were in castles.  They were cracked and calloused.  Ugly even, for He came not as a comely man (Isaiah 53:2).  Yes, those feet of His had tread many a treacherous trail in His quest to rescue the lost and lasso them back to the Father.  Those feet of His stood firmly when His allegiance was tested in the wilderness by the wicked one to tempt God.  Those dirty feet led Him down even dustier paths to heal, comfort, teach, and encourage people.

     Yes, those precious feet took the narrow way, not the wide way.  They humbly took Him everywhere…from Bethlehem to Bethsaida…from Galilee to Gadarenes…from Nazareth to the nether regions of Israel to preach the good news that He was the Way to heaven and to the Father.  Those feet stood stolidly as opposition assailed Him all along the way.  Those worn and weary feet took Him all the way up to the Sanhedrin’s synagogue, their headquarters, if you will, where He encountered rage, rejection, and ridicule.  Yes, the crowds may have adored Him, but the Pharisees abhorred Him, for He preached that God desired mercy, not sacrifice.  Those hypocrites got grace square in the face and got sick to their guts because Someone else was stealing their thunder.

     Standing securely, He faced such opposition with grace that only God can give.

     Those feet of His were so precious to a hooker that she knelt and kissed them, washed them with her weary tears, then dried them with her disheveled hair and anointed them with ointment.  Those feet supported God in the flesh, and she knew it.  And for her sincere sorrow over having offended the Savior with her sinful lifestyle, Christ had her memorialized in His Book.

     Those feet stood firmly as Pilate pronounced His death sentence.  Those feet turned to water as He was ripped by the whipping Pilate had ordered He be given.  Those feet staggered beneath the weight of the cross He was forced to carry to Calvary, and those feet gave out along the way.  Those feet had a hole hammered through them when they crucified Him most cruelly.  And the blood flowing from those seemingly defeated feet was too bizarre to behold as He was slain for the sins of the world.  Yes, people did the crime, but a sinless Christ did the time; and now anyone who comes to Him can be washed whiter than snow and share one long, happy day with Him in eternity!

     Those feet, by the way, are still standing, planted firmly on the crystal sea surrounding His heavenly Father’s throne.  Those feet now walk the golden streets of glory.   And those feet are no longer loathsome, but a beautiful, burnished brass (Revelation 1:15) as if refined in the Refiner’s pot—purified seven times.  And one day, everyone who has received Him will bow down before those precious feet of His and kiss them, cuddle them even, the way that hooker kissed and cuddled them, out of gratitude for His amazing grace…for standing on His own two feet for the underdog and for seeking and saving us who were lost.  Yes, we shall kiss those dear and desirable feet when heaven is finally our home.  And all because Christ used His feet to follow His heart’s desire—US!

     And now, it is our turn to use our feet.  Or more precisely, to let Christ use our feet…to walk up to hookers and hoodlums…to the lost and the lonely…to the junkies and the drunkies…to tell them the good news.  Believe me, I was once all those things, so I know these folks are more likely to grab hold of the gospel than the “good” folks out there are.  And while we’re at it, let’s dig in our feet, as Jesus did, in the face of rejection, persecution, and opposition, by being the best ambassadors of Christ we can be.  There are rewards for winning the lost (Matthew 16:27).  And there is a bounty of blessings if we are given the boot for trying to (1 Peter 4:14).

      Either way…let’s put our feet to the street and do a meet and greet with a woeful and wearisome world!

All scriptural references taken from the NKJV Bible 1985