Romans 8:12-17, 26-27
Intro: A 51 Year Old Footprint…
It was 51 years ago July 21st that Neil Armstrong descended a ladder and placed his foot on the dusty soil of the moon. With one-half a billion people watching the fuzzy black and white picture, we heard him say, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” With no atmosphere, those prints are probably still there.
Buzz Aldrin, who left his footprints 19 minutes later, believes they are a sign of hope for the future, telling us to pursue a path that will lead us through our troubles. And he hopes someday we will leave footprints on Mars.
I. What Footprints Are You Leaving?
This got me thinking about the spiritual footprints we leave. I once heard about how a few people undermined any new initiative for the community the church would try. They bullied and intimidated them at every step they took to do any good. Then one Sunday the pastor declared that they were led by the Spirit and not by fear, so it was time, he said, to put on God shoes. He didn’t know what kind of shoes some folks were wearing, but they weren’t God shoes. God’s Spirit is not behind the negativity and trouble trying to enslave them to fear, and he would hate to be in their shoes when they stand before God to account for the footprints they left behind.
Then something remarkable happened. The church cried out to their Father in heaven. They clapped their hands to Christ’s glory. They committed themselves to wear God shoes and live as God’s children. As a poet said: All God’s children need traveling shoes.
II. Put on God Shoes…
I once took a youth group on a retreat to build trust both in God and with each other as God’s children. I remember most the Trust Walk. The point was made to wear good shoes because each of us was going to allow someone to lead you along an obstacle course while blindfolded. A “Spirit” guide would give instructions on how and where to step or stoop along the trail. We learned that if you are patient and listen closely, it will work out. If not, you may experience a few bumps and bruises, and without good shoes, stubbed toes!
This is what I believe the pastor meant by putting on God shoes: a willingness to be led by the Spirit through the obstacles we face, sharing responsibility and accepting the occasional bumps and bruises that comes with it. It’s more than turning the pages of the Bible and quoting verses,
but accepting the obligation to do what it is telling us to do by the Spirit, even when it is hard.
Mother Teresa’s organization used to receive shipments of donated shoes since many people they were serving had no shoes at all. Mother Teresa would dig through each shipment to find the worst pair. She would take them for herself regardless of how badly they fit. What was her reasoning behind such an act? She wanted God’s children in her care to have the best of the worst and not the worst. Doing this for many years deformed her feet. In 2010 Mother Teresa’s shoes were brought to a church in Texas where worshipers might be inspired by the steps she took to care for God’s children. She wore God shoes, leaving behind the kind of footprints that testified to Christ’s glory.
III. …Led by the Spirit
If you were to look behind, what prints would you see? Are they prints made with shoes soled with mistakes and fears? Are we leaving footprints made with old, comfortable shoes that serve only our needs and wants, or from God shoes that allow us to be led by the Spirit down a path that shares Christ’s glory as we offer hope and help to our neighbors and world?
Sheila and I served as co-chaplains this week for Project Restore. We dropped in on the team working on Elm Street, led by Gene. One young man had on some serious work shoes he said he has used since mission trips to Appalachia. Gene had on some low-top boots. They were torn and worn. He joked that he hadn’t taken them off since he put them on. I felt a spiritual truth in that comment, and said, “Those are your God shoes!”
I saw grass trampled down around worksites, shoe prints in the Garden’s dirt – signs of God shoes being worn by God’s children, younger and older, led by the Spirit to share in Christ’s work, offering signs of hope in a community that has suffered even very recently.
For 2 years in a row there has been a shooting on the eve of Project Restore in a neighborhood where they were to work! It’s as if the devil is determined to discourage us. The good news is: whenever discouraged, or if fear holds you back from doing what you know you should do, put on your God shoes and leave footprints of hope. Hope is what keeps God’s children moving forward. In a spiritual sense, every day is a Trust Walk with the Spirit as our Guide. When we are patient and listen closely, everything will work out, for we know who our Father is, and to what family we belong.