Barefoot Souls

I love this lady and am humbled she loves me
- toenails and all!

     Delana Barber of Daphne, Alabama, psychology teacher and pastor's wife, is known for saying off-the-wall things that take people by surprise. She likes to shake things up. For instance, she's known to say, "I love your toenails, girl." (She's known for a lot more than that, but that's what I can quote in this blog.) The first time she told me this I felt both disgusted and comforted: disgusted at the shape of my toenails yet comforted that someone would love me in spite of them. After all, we can't feel truly free with someone when we have to hide our flaws.

     The two verses from "Jesus Calling" today prove God loves us down to our toenails, regardless of their condition. The verses also contrast how the same holy God worked in the soles of Old Testament faithfuls with how He works in the souls of believers today. 

To Moses:
 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals. The place you are standing on is holy ground.”  Exodus 3:5

As Moses stared into the burning bush on the back forty acres of the desert, God told him to remove his shoes and bare his soles. Later Moses climbed Mount Sinai and walked through camp to the tabernacle to spend time in God's shining Presence.  His soles revealed how much time he spent in the Presence of God.

But to believers in Corinth Paul wrote:
"Don’t you know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit? The Spirit is in you. You have received Him from God. You do not belong to yourselves."  1 Corinthians 6:19

      Moses walked to and from God's Presence, removing his shoes to show reverence and to symbolize that nothing stood between him and his God.  However, souls don't wear shoes so there's nothing between us and God's Spirit. He resides on the fertile ground of our belief. We live with His Spirit burning in us, burning away darkness and shining through us to bring others into His Light.
       When we accept Christ as our Savior, there's no stepping into or out of God's Spirit. We carry Him - His shining Presence - in us and become His burning bushes, His Mt. Sinais, His tabernacles, His lions' dens, His fiery furnaces, His still small voices, His messengers, His prophets, His temples, His lights on dark hillsides, His salt to preserve and to add flavor, His shining stars, His upper rooms, His prison dungeons, His platforms and microphones. We become whatever He calls us to be wherever He can use us to reveal Him to the world. With God in us, it's our souls, not our soles that reveal how much time we spend in His Presence.

Father, You alone know how to shine best through each of us today. Thank Your for taking up residence in such humble homes. Just as Jesus was born in the manger, You choose to dwell in our dusty souls.  Please, transform us into whatever - whoever - will best reveal You to people who need You.  Thank You that we can't hide anything from You. Fill us with the joy of knowing we live barefoot before You: known for who we are and loved down to our toenails.  

In the Name of Jesus Who washed the dusty feet of His disciples