While on holiday in the lovely Cape, my dear friend Esthie decided to buy me a pair of shoes, to symbolise the beautiful feet of “a messenger who announces peace, a messenger who brings good news, who announces deliverance…” NET Bible
I needed black low-heeled shoes anyhow, so I chose an elegant-looking pair – only to realise later that the rubber soles squeaked with every step, even on the softest carpet! It turned out to be an effective way to remind me that my every step should in some way influence someone to gladly accept the wonderful message about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ!
It is February now, the month of Valentine’s Day as well as the Oscars. In the case of the latter we will once again be entertained by celebrities on the red carpet, quite a few of them hoping to be rewarded with an Oscar for their remarkable contribution to our entertainment. Daniel 12:3 mentions another type of reward: Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. (NIV)
In 1979, Mother Teresa was rewarded with something much more important than an Oscar: the Nobel Peace Prize,“for work undertaken in the struggle to overcome poverty and distress, which also constitute a threat to peace.” Apparently she refused having a ceremonial banquet in her honour and requested that the $6000 allocated for this event be given to the poor of Calcutta. This was able to feed hundreds of hungry people – for a year!
All this has inspired me to daily wear the shoes of willingness to share the gospel of Christ. And to keep in mind that, as James exhorts us, it won’t necessarily be my words that draw people to Christ, but often the smile of acceptance and the love with which I reach out to them – wíth my “designer shoes” and without a visible Oscar or Nobel Prize!