I have a pair of worn out shoes that should have been tossed in the trash about 3 years ago but I can’t bring myself to pull the trigger.  What used to be a shiny new and quite stylish pair of sneakers are now the laughing stock of shoeville.  From the day I sat down in front of the slanted shoe mirror at the outlet store and tried them on, I knew we would become fast friends.

You’ve got to confess along with me that there is nothing better than a pair of shoes that fit just right.  From a pain free “break in” , through the many miles I’ve tread, to present day, I have found a solid comfort in my trusty shoes.  Miles of memories are etched in the soles and the contour of the instep has molded itself to fit my stride exactly.

I found myself getting more and more comfortable in my shoes and it seemed that the more I wore them, the better we got along.  I began to wear them not only to the clean places, but would venture into a little mud and sand from time to time, knowing I could clean them if we treaded too far off track.  Then the stains began to set in – acceptable stains… after all they are shoes.

From what used to be clean pathways, my shoes and I began taking journeys into some pretty dingy, dirty places.  The stains became so fierce and the many hours of sockless journeys had left my trusty sneakers in a state of transition.  What used to be my “out on the town” strides were shelved to become my “yard shoes”.  No more clean pathways would find the soles of these shoes.  They were too dirty to be seen in public.

As of two weeks ago, the lining in the shoes began to tear away.  With a carefully placed piece of packing tape, I was able to patch them together so I wouldn’t wear a blister onto my heel.  Then in a snowball effect, the sole began to tear away from the shoe… needless to say I was devastated.  My most comfortable pair of sneakers were litterally falling apart at the seams.  No amount of packing tape, duct tape, or shoe goo could keep them together.  The damage was too great.  But the shoes are still amazingly comfortable and they fit me perfectly knowing my stride and my step.  I sat in the garage and regretted not taking better care of them.  I took them for granted and had allowed them to wither right before my eyes. 

Our faith in Christ is like a pair of really good shoes.  We find Christ and we try Him on and realize that He is the perfect fit for our lives.  From day one, a relationship is built.  We stay on the clean pathways and avoid dirt, grime, and gunk for as long as we can.  But we take a step off the path for various reasons.  We journey through the loose dirt and sand and realize that we need to get back on the path and clean ourselves up before stain sets in.

After time passes, we find ourselves marching into dirty, dingy places that leave stains and scars on the relationship with our Creator.  It’s at this point that we make a critical mistake.  We seemingly convince ourselves that since we are already dirty, we might as well hide  from public and keep our smelly lives out of the spotlight.  Rather than cleaning up our relationship, we give up and put Christ Jesus on the shelf.  When the hard yard work in our life comes, we return to Him and use Him when we need help.  When we are done with our task at hand… we put Him back on the shelf.

When we neglect and use Christ this way, eventually our soul will begin to separate from the life we live.  We feel like we are beyond repair and in spite of our temporary attempts at repairing our relationship… we end up tossing Christ, our faith, and our journey into the trash for a new set of shoes that just never will fit the same.

We won’t always live a life that is clean.  We won’t always stay on the right path.  We stray… and thank God Almighty that He is with us when we leave the path.  

We fall off the cliff when we realize we have soiled and stained our relationship with Christ and do not accept His offer to pick us up, clean us off, remove the stain, and put us back on the path of righteousness.  Rather, we just stare at our soiled lives and give up hope that we can ever be clean again.

Try your best to stay on the path of righteousness.  When you stray into areas where you shouldn’t be treading, gives thanks that Christ is there to help you out.  And never forget that no matter how dirty, dingy, and stained you may become in your journey… Christ is able to make you new and show you the path of living with Him.

Never give up on Christ…He knows how hard it is to stay on the path.  He walked many miles in your shoes.  He can and will clean you, remove your stains, and remind you that nothing will ever fit you as well as Christ.

Grace and Peace,
Greg Arnold
Acts 4:31
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