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In fact, the Scriptures regard feet as an important metaphor for bringing and carrying the truth. It does not take much imagination to know that the feet of mountain travelers in the Isaiah passage were probably blistered and battered, smelly and sore, twisted and torn as well. And yet they were surely lovely indeed.

Jesus' feet merit much spotlighting in the Bible. In Luke 7 a sinful woman "stood behind him at his feet," then took an alabaster jar and proceeded to "bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with ointment" (v. 38). How often those appendages are mentioned in just a few verses. Elsewhere people fall at Jesus' feet (Luke 8:41). Mary, and others, "sat at the Lord's feet" (Luke 10:39). When Jesus is encountered after his resurrection, the two Marys "took hold of his feet, and worshiped him" (Matthew 28:9). And when Jesus proved that he was truly alive after the resurrection, he presented both his hands and his feet (Luke 24:39-40). Adoration, worship and honoring of Jesus often include and focus on his feet.

It is not just Jesus' or others' feet, of course, that get so much attention in the Bible, but more specifically their function. What they do — walking — is vital to Christian faithfulness.

My belated interest in walking — which did not bloom until I was middle-aged — helped me see its importance in Scriptures. Until then, I had no idea that this was a major theme and metaphor there. Walking is an essential human faculty. It is deeply connected to who and how we are, and to who and how God made us.

Thus says God, the LORD,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people upon it
and spirit to those who walk in it (Isaiah 42:5).

This humble, elementary mode of exercise is related to having God's Spirit and being able to breathe; it is mentioned in the same poem as the lofty subject of God's creation of heaven and earth.

In the Scriptures, inability to walk, being lame, is one of the most basic impediments to living fully. This disadvantage is as serious as being blind, deaf or mute. Many miracles deal with helping people gain the full use of feet and legs. When John the Baptist is in prison and needs further clarity and confirmation, Jesus responds by asserting that one vital sign of his messiahship is that "the lame walk" (Matthew 11:5; Luke 7:22).

We know about the restorative and healing potential of moving by foot. Sometimes when someone is steamed or out of sorts, we advise them to take a walk, cool down, get perspective. Many folks report finding clarity on dilemmas while going for a stroll. I have no trouble believing an old Latin saying often attributed to Augustine: Solvitur ambulando—" It is solved by walking." In my life I associate walking with healing too. More than once this discipline carried and cured me in times of depression, anxiety, burnout and other crises. In recent years this practice reoriented me in prioritizing my life and trying to understand our culture.

This basic human faculty, then, is a metaphor for faithful living. This is intriguingly and evocatively suggested in passages that indicate God's accompanying us:

As God said,
"I will live in them and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people" (2 Corinthians 6:16).

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April (Web-only) 2009, Vol. 53