and all manner of debris. God’s peo ple are to wear shoes which will carry them to places where they can be useful in His service. The chil dren of Israel traveled for 40 years in the wilderness. When they finally arrived at the promised land, they discovered that their shoes had not worn out. That’s particularly amaz ing to me as a father of three chil dren for we always seem to be buy ing shoes. “Being shod with the ‘prepara tion’ of the Gospel of peace.” Pre paredness signifies readiness. Paul declared, “As much as in me is, I am ready to preach the Gospel.” Have you put on God’s shoes so that you can be ready, prepared, to preach the Gospel? Ordinarily, a foot is not very beautiful. The Bible reminds us of some that are: “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel!” Scrupulous attention was given in the early centuries as to the shoes of their soldiers. A n c ien t cities protected themselves by plac ing sharp sticks with dagger-like points embedded in the roads lead ing toward them. Any soldier who foolishly failed to wear his shoes would soon become lame and useless in the battle. God has called us to a battle. We must be sure to have our feet completely shod with the prep aration of the Gospel of peace. There is an interesting legend which tells about a town whose in habitants were all barefooted. No matter what season of the year, they never put on shoes. Although dressed in all their finery, the women with lovely fur coats, exquisite jewelry, and the men similarly decked out yet they had nothing on their feet. A visitor to the strange community was perplexed. In the winter time these people had to hobble around, traveling from one place to another without the benefit of shoes. It was further amazing to discover that the city was primarily known for its
shoe factories. Actually there were many large buildings which were designated only for shoe making. People liked to gather regularly to discuss the subject of shoes. Leaders of the people would guide discussion groups as they had lectures on “The Importance of Proper Foot Cover ings,” “Fine Leathers Symbolically Studied,” “The Im po rtan ce of Shoes,” and the like. Still nobody wore shoes. It seemed like a para dox. One day the visitor came upon a new cobbler’s shop. The man had just arrived in the strange commu nity. Wonder of wonders, the crafts man was actually making a real pair of shoes. Word spread far and wide. Yet, instead of rejoicing in the avail ability of shoes, the foolish people began condemning the poor cobbler. To think of such a vulgar idea: ac tually making a pair of shoes. The thought of measuring someone’s feet was repulsive and coarse. It was all in extremely poor taste, the people said. To make boots and shoes was really unthought of. Do you see what this illustrates? In the world today there are many buildings known as churches. Their purpose is to send forth the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ through their members. The only way to do this is for men and women to be properly shod with the message of Jesus Christ and His redeeming love. We gather together and talk about such things as the human soul and the importance of evangelism. We are concerned about the Lord’s commission to go into all the world. Then hypocritically we hobble around maimed and injured, our selves barefoot as it were, devoid of proper protection for our feet. Are you really ready, prepared to carry the message of eternal life to others? Next we read in Ephesians 6:16 that, above all, we are to take the shield of faith wherewith we shall
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