Daily devotional, December 2, 2023 Beautiful feet
"Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet."
John 13:14
Foot spa and pedicure service is one of the more popular me-time activities for ladies wanting to de-stress. Spending more than an hour and a couple of hundred pesos seems worth it especially after working for five straight days.
But there is one activity that will make for better, longer-lasting stress relief that will leave anyone feeling beautiful inside out — sitting by the feet of Jesus. All throughout the scriptures, feet have always been used to demonstrate humility, the delivery of good news, direction in life, and love for Jesus and others.
In the Gospel of Luke, there was the story about siblings Martha and Mary who received Jesus in their home. The older sister Martha was busy preparing food for the guests that included Jesus, while Mary sat by Jesus’ feet the whole time listening to Him. Martha was distressed attending to guests all by herself while her sister was just with Jesus, so she complained to Him about it, but Jesus said:
"Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
Luke 10:41-42
The same level of adoration and hunger for Jesus Christ’s presence was displayed by yet another woman in the bible who was also featured in the Gospel of St. Luke:
"A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them."
Luke 7:37-38
When the self-righteous audience saw what the sinful woman did, they questioned Jesus’ ability to know the real personality of the people who are trying to be close to Him. But Jesus did not bother, instead, He appreciated the sinful woman’s effort to serve and adore Him:
"Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
Luke 7:47
Sitting by Jesus feet is not just beneficial to our souls, it is also a way of worship that our Lord and Savior really appreciates. It is us telling Him “I want to know you more, I want to spend more time with you, and I will listen to what you have to say.” These are exact words that we want to hear from someone we love right?
So how do we sit by Jesus’ feet? It is easy, it is just opening our hearts to Him in prayer and intentionally devoting time to read and study His words:
"But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
Matthew 6:6
Apart from sitting by His feet to listen to Him, Jesus also appreciates us spreading His good news of salvation. Isaiah 52:7 says:
"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.'"
In the verse above which was also quoted in the Book of Romans, the Prophet Isaiah prophesies about people working with God to save souls. The feet here are beautiful because they actively and untiringly work for the salvation of many who have yet to hear about Jesus’ redemption of sinners through the cross.
All of us can have this kind of beautiful feet if we partner with God in spreading the news about Jesus’ love, forgiveness, and grace. Tell someone today about your personal encounter with Jesus!
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Luke 10:38-42to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: When was the last time you sat by the feet of Jesus? How can sitting by the feet of Jesus help your tired soul today?
Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, I praise and thank you for allowing me to stay by your feet, especially in my moments of weaknesses. Allow me to encourage others to seek you so that they too can be comforted by your presence. Amen.
