When you think about it, shoes say a lot about a person. When you look at someone’s shoes, you can probably guess an approximate age, and usually if you are dealing with a he or a she. For example, little pink Crocs generally fit young girls. Massive black Nikes are more likely to go on a massive young man, and so on. If you take a closer look, you might be able to tell a person’s hobbies. Cleats suggest a football, baseball, soccer, or softball player. Jordans and the works suggest a basketball player. Stilettos suggest a businesswoman, black dress shoes, a business man. If you read the brand name, you can get a pretty close guess at a person’s financial life. Off brand shoes cry out, “This person has a low income!” while Chacos, Uggs, and Sperrys might as well be sandwich boards that say, “I just got a raise!” And then, if you get really, really close, you can find out the most important thing about a person—what kind of road he has been on, and how long. As you read this, it might be occurring to you that your shoes might need replacing. So if the shoe fits, maybe we should stop talking about footwear.
A common mistake Christians can make (and I’m not immune to this myself) is getting so caught up in the theology and theory that the gospel gets stomped down to irrelevancy. In the attempt to be wiser, we make ourselves fools—the gospel is the center of the relationship between God and man, and therefore the only reason we have any theology to argue about.
So, what is the gospel? In as few words as possible, I would point you to the Bible. Before you agree with or argue against anything I say, give it a read. Many people reject the Bible as an antiquated instruction manual. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. I’m sure I’m not the only one who searched everything in my home closely related to a wardrobe for Narnia and rummaged through the mail for a Hogwarts letter at least once. Many people want nothing more than to be a part of an epic story. Little do they know the Bible IS that story. It has a beginning, in which everything that was and is in existence was created except for the Creator, who is uncreated. The creation was perfect for a time, until the first ruler of the world disobeyed God for the first time. All of our past, present, and future hinged on the moment Eve took a bite of that fruit. The centuries following were filled with rape, murder, war, and death… not so different from the world we live in now. Man tried to climb back up to perfection through sacrifice and obedience, but always fell short. God’s people were thrown into slavery not once, but twice. And then… silence. Man didn’t hear from God for three-hundred years. So ends the Old Testament.
All seemed hopeless. Man had fallen too far. Had God given up? So begins the New Testament. But then one night in the town of Bethlehem, a baby was born in a barn. How climactic, right? But alas, this baby wasn’t born to be a shepherd and lead a flock of sheep; the ruler and king, the son of man God had promised as early as Genesis 3 had come. He came into the world and claimed to be the Messiah. After many witnessed miracles and sermons, he died on a cross. But he didn’t stay dead. After three days in the grave, he rose again. He later ascended into heaven with the promise to return.
One certainly can’t argue that these events were at the very least supernatural, but how did an entire religion stem from them? That’s where the gospel comes in.
As Christians, we do not merely believe that Jesus died on the cross. Something happened there: something we call the Great Exchange. Before his death, all the sin of the past, present, and future was placed on him. God himself took on every sin. That includes that time you looked your parents in the eye and disobeyed them. It includes the time you lied to your best friend, even though it was just a “little white lie.” It includes the murder and adultery you have committed in your heart. Every sin ever was on Jesus’ shoulders. He saw it all, felt it all, and took the blame for it all. How could he see that and still love us? I guess you could say God only knows. Because he does. Your sin was on his shoulders because you were on his heart. It wasn’t a general love for humanity that led the King of the Universe to die on the cross, it was you. It was me. It was each individual person that deserves death and hell but instead receives Christ’s righteousness in the Great Exchange. This is the gospel.
So what does all of that have to do with shoes? Well, if you thought your Converse sneakers needed some polishing, look at your life. Look at all of us. It doesn’t take a shoe expert to know our soles aren’t the cleanest, and it doesn’t take a moral expert to know the same is true of our souls. But Jesus Christ put himself in your shoes. Not your best dress shoes or your ratty old sneakers, but your own physical state of sin and death. Now you get to put yourself in his shoes and stand before God as a son or daughter. So stop looking at your shoes, and lift up your eyes to the Father.
"Ponder the path of your feet,; then all your ways will be sure." -Proverbs 4:26
