Pastor Kasey Maxwell asserted this truth in Sunday’s sermon (The Life, Apollo Beach, FL).  I never really contemplated my feet before.  They are average size with disproportionately short toes.  The skin sports more than a dozen red ant bite scars of various ages including one still pimpled up.  The nail of the left second toes is growing back from an injury sustained several months ago ripping more than half the nail from its bed.  The bottoms are dark with ground in dirty from years of going barefoot and wearing sandals in all but the snowiest conditions.  The little toe on each foot has a small callous caused by the strap of my favorite pair of sandals.  And, of course, odd suntan stripes from those same sandals.  Although my feet will never be pedi-model perfect, they are clean from daily washing and hours each week in the swimming pool. I bet you never wanted to know so much about my feet. 
 
I am sure the dirty and scarred beautiful feet Pastor Kasey spoke of have nothing to do with the condition of my physical feet.  He was referring to the beautiful feet described in Romans 10:15, ‘And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”’ The dirt on those beautiful feet comes from bringing the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ to a hurting world, a world desperate for a word of hope from those who carry this hope within them, those who are willing to risk getting scarred and dirty beautiful feet!
 
I pray you and I, who have the hope God promised His children, will have both compassion for those who do not know the good news and the courage to risk getting dirty, scarred, beautiful feet introducing them to our Savior.    
 
Isaiah 52:7  ‘How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”’

A couple weeks ago, I received a series of texts in the middle of the night from my credit union notifying me it appeared my credit card information had been stolen and was being used to charge items in the Pacific Northwest while I live near Tampa Florida.  I logged into my account and, sure enough, there were several unauthorized charges on my account. I contacted the credit card company as per the instructions in the texts and confirmed which of the recent charges were legitimate and which were fraudulent. 
 
Fast forward a few days and I began to receive notices from UPS informing me they would be delivering a package requiring signature from an industrial vendor the following Friday. I was confused as I couldn’t remember ordering anything and was sure I didn’t recall the vendor.  As promised, the package was delivered Friday albeit without my signature.  The package was a padded envelope used for shipping small items.  I noticed the shipped-from label was not the industrial vendor but a local well-known retailer.  And, one of the fraudulent charges was from this retailer.  Hoping I had not ordered something without remembering or our cat had helped me order a $33 item, I opened the envelope.  Inside I found a detailed order form and a manufacturer packaged item.  I logged into my online account and searched my email to verify I indeed had not ordered the 2mm high speed steel thingy.
Next, I called the vendor’s customer service to ask their advice for what to do with the thingy.  The agent and I had a long chat and determined scammers were not always smart – The order form in the package had several identifying numbers enabling the agent to identify the phone number, email @ress, and professional account number of the orderer.  Based on the information both the vendor and the credit card company have identifiers for any recourse. And I still have the thingy.
 
Hmmm – what is this thingy?  I don’t want to open the manufacturer’s package in case I am instructed to return the thingy to the local retailer.  It reminded me of other unknowns in my life:  my future; the stability of the stock market and my 401K; the possibility of hurricanes in western Florida; all sorts of things I cannot predict.  Paul preached to the Athenians the identity of the Unknown God . (Acts 17:22-23). 
 
I am thankful the ‘thingy’ in my life is not an Unknown God.  I am thankful the Unknown God has made Himself known to me through the scriptures, the wisdom of inspired preaching, the counsel of other Christians, His word into my life through prayer, and the revelation of the Holy Spirit.
 
I urge you to get to know the Unknown God – study the scripture; attend services preaching the gospel with clarity; join a small/study group with mature Christians; open yourself to the revelation of the Holy Spirit and meet with God in prayer.  And the ‘thingy’ will be revealed – the Unknown God will become known!  Praise be to God.