Beautiful Feet

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.'” (Isaiah 52:7, ESV)

I remember a missionary to Indonesia named John Wilson who had the opportunity to take the gospel to an unreached people group. He began a long trek through the jungle and then discovered that his sneakers were too small. He decided to cut the toes of the sneakers off since they rubbed his toes sore. All went well until the dirt, debris, and sand from the jungle floor balled up under the soles of his feet. However, committed to the mission, he pressed on through the pain. When he reached the destination, I can imagine that his feet were quite a mess with dirt and sores from the trip. Yet while humanly speaking his feet must have been an ugly mess, God says they were beautiful. Look at the verse, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of them who brings good news.”

This verse in Isaiah speaks of the good news that a herald would proclaim to the nation in the time spoken of in the previous chapter and verses. What was this blessing? While Israel would rejoice in its return from Babylon in 536 B.C., their great joy would come when their Messiah would reign in the kingdom. This speaks of the reign of Christ and the proclamation of the good news.

It is interesting that the Apostle Paul quotes this particular verse in reference to taking the gospel message to the nations. Look at Paul’s words.

“For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’” (Romans 10:13–15, ESV)

Yes, the Lord God considers the feet of every person who takes the wonderful message of God’s grace to others as beautiful.

You see, one does not have to be a missionary to Indonesia to have beautiful feet. You only need to sow the seed of the gospel to others. This is true when you take the message of the kingdom to your next-door neighbor, when you take the message to your coworker, when you speak of Christ to that person in the grocery store, etc. Proclaiming the good news is a natural outworking of the indwelling Spirit of Christ. God says that all of us who proclaim the good news have beautiful feet.