Come to Me – Day 14

No, this is not a promotion for pedicures! If anything, I imagine the feet of the messenger that Isaiah describes were anything but aesthetically pleasing. Isaiah is picturing a city under a siege, breathlessly waiting for a word from a messenger about the outcome of the battle. Is it good news? Have they won – will they be delivered? Is it news of defeat? Then, on the road leading to the city, feet appear. And as the messenger comes closer, the people watching realise that he is not so much running as he is dancing. Word spreads through the city of the messenger’s news and the messenger’s feet are declared beautiful.

The defeat of the Babylonians at the hands of Cyrus is good news for the Jewish captives, because it means they are set free. The good news today is that Christ has come and set us free from the bonds of sin and death. Paul quotes Isaiah 52:7 to emphasise the glorious role of believers who spread the gospel message. He writes, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 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 they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” (Romans 10:13-15).

As Christians, we are called to have beautiful feet – to bring the glorious news that we have been set free. It is not a glamorous job and you are likely to get blisters, but we have the most wonderful news and the responsibility to share it.