In the New Testament, there is a section of the book of Romans traditionally understood as a letter written by the apostle Paul to followers of Jesus gathered in house churches in first-century Rome.
Paul is talking about the importance of sharing the Gospel—the “good news.” And near the end of this section, he quotes the Old Testament prophet Isaiah:
And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” ~Romans 10:15
Think about that for a moment.
How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.
What a beautiful picture.
Paul wasn’t talking about beautiful shoes. He wasn’t talking about polished feet or perfect appearances. He was talking about people who carry good news with them wherever they go.
And I wonder:
What kind of news are my feet bringing?
What happens when I walk into a room?
What happens when I sit down beside someone who is hurting?
What happens when I encounter someone who sees the world differently than I do?
What happens when I open my phone and start typing?
Because our feet don’t just take us from one physical location to another.
In a very real sense, we carry something with us.
We carry our words.
We carry our attitudes.
We carry our encouragement—or our discouragement.
We carry compassion—or judgment.
We carry hope—or fear.
And today, we carry all of that into the world through our social-media feeds.
We live in an age where bad news is available 24 hours a day.
Another alarming headline.
Another disturbing video.
Another political argument.
Another tragedy.
Another outrage.
Another reason to be angry.
Another reason to be afraid.
Another reason to divide ourselves into “us” and “them.”
And yes, we should pay attention to what is happening in the world. Ignoring suffering doesn’t make it disappear. We should care about injustice. We should care about our communities. We should care about people who are hurting.
But there is something else we should remember:
We are not powerless.
Take away the trending stories.
Take away the alarming updates.
Take away the endless arguments.
Take away the disturbing realities that fill our screens.
We are still sentient human beings with choices to make.
We still have time.
We still have resources.
We still have energy.
We still have words.
We still have opportunities.
We still have people around us who need someone to remind them that they matter.
And we still get to decide what kind of news our feet bring.
Maybe the good news today is a phone call to someone who feels forgotten.
Maybe it’s buying groceries for a neighbor who is struggling.
Maybe it’s sitting quietly with someone who doesn’t need an answer—they just need someone to stay.
Maybe it’s forgiving someone.
Maybe it’s listening before responding.
Maybe it’s choosing not to share that inflammatory post.
Maybe it’s encouraging someone who is ready to give up.
Maybe it’s welcoming the person everyone else has overlooked.
Maybe it’s being kind to the cashier, the server, the stranger, the immigrant, the lonely neighbor, the person sitting alone at church, or the person who doesn’t believe what you believe.
Maybe the good news isn’t something we post.
Maybe it’s something we become.
Our world doesn’t need more people adding gasoline to every fire.
It needs people willing to carry water.
It needs people willing to walk into difficult places and bring compassion.
It needs people willing to speak truth without losing love.
It needs people willing to disagree without dehumanizing.
It needs people who can look at the person in front of them and remember:
There is a human being here.
And for those of us who follow Jesus, perhaps this is part of what it means to live out the Gospel.
Not merely talking about good news.
Bringing good news.
Not merely posting Scripture.
Living Scripture.
Not merely telling people that God loves them.
Showing them what love looks like.
Romans 10:15 asks us to imagine beautiful feet—the feet of people who carry good news into the world.
So before we ask what the world is bringing to us today, perhaps we should ask a different question:
What are we bringing to the world?
What news will our feet carry into our homes?
What news will they carry into our workplaces?
What news will they carry into our churches?
What news will they carry into our neighborhoods?
And what news will they carry onto our social-media pages?
We may not be able to control every headline.
We may not be able to fix every problem.
We may not be able to change the entire world.
But we can choose what we carry into the little corner of the world where God has placed us today.
So go.
Walk into someone’s darkness carrying a little light.
Walk into someone’s loneliness carrying companionship.
Walk into someone’s fear carrying courage.
Walk into someone’s grief carrying presence.
Walk into someone’s anger carrying peace.
Walk into someone’s hopelessness carrying hope.
And if you follow Jesus, carry His love with you.
Because perhaps the question isn’t simply whether our feet are beautiful.
Perhaps the real question is:
What kind of news are our feet carrying?
May our feet carry good news.
May our words carry grace.
May our hands carry compassion.
May our lives carry hope.
And may the people we encounter today be able to say:
“I am glad you showed up.” ~OC
The Blessed Overcomer 
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