Baby Feet

He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible,  whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things have been created through Him and for Him.  He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and His is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. 

Colossians 1:13-20

Last night, in the midst of a Jesus-filled basement Bible study, I found myself studying the tiny, wrinkled feet of a newborn who was contentedly nursing as all the women, young and old and every age in between, engaged in deep, meaningful conversation around him. The Spirit was thickly blanketing the room, and I sat, transfixed on the tiny bare feet of an infant, not yet even ten pounds, not yet having lived for even 90 days.

I heard the Spirit whisper, “I take great value in tiny things, and I dwell in the moments of  awe over itty bitty baby feet.”

Less than 24 hours later, this evening, in our small Bible study that my husband and I host in our little unfinished basement with the pitter-patter (and outrageous banging) of our children overhead,  we closed out our seven-week in-depth study of the unassuming and lovely book of Ruth. In our video,  the teacher also focused in on some sweet baby feet: those of Obed, the son of Ruth and Boaz, and one represented in the genealogy of Christ. As Naomi held to her breast the child who stood as the tangible representation of YAHWEH’s provision, care, and loving-kingness, she studied the wrinkled, tiny infant feet, and she breathed a sigh of relief, uttered a prayer of thanksgiving, and learned how to lay down her name of bitterness that she had assigned herself when she had first laid foot on Bethlehem soil.

Then Naomi took the child in her lap, and she became is nurse. The neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi. So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.  Ruth 4:16-17

Those baby feet, as tiny as they were, restored Naomi’s name, her faith, and her spirit, and they foreshadowed the wrinkled feet of the servant-king, born many generations later on the same soil.  Those tiny wrinkled feet, still pruned by Mary’s amniotic fluid, belonged to the Lord of the Universe, the same God who hung the stars. This God, the Word, now self-emptied, occupied relatively untraceable space on the earth He had created and dotted on the timeline He had long ago set in motion.

I am captivated by all of these tiny feet: Baby Zion’s tiny toes, curling as he nursed from his young mother last night in a room filled with women of  unflinching faith;  baby Obed’s (his name meaning servant) born to a once outcast Moabite Ruth, now called and named by God; Finally, the itty bitty feet of the Servant-King, making Himself nothing, becoming obedient to all the laws of nature, and even death on the cross in order to fulfill His ultimate rescue plan.  This path of soft, squishy baby feet leads straight to the feet of the Savior, the tiny wrinkled feet that 33 years later would be pierced by the nails that would anchor Him to the cross: The same cross that would transform death into life and heartbreak into joy that would shake the depths of the earth and the highest regions of the heavens.

And God says, This is the reason why I transfixed your eyes on sweet Zion’s tiny feet. They were the greatest representation of Jesus in a room filled with women who waft the fragrance of Christ wherever they go.  This is my upside-down, low-made-high, mustard seed kingdom, set in motion by an infant with squishy little baby feet. 

So look at Christ’s feet. Look at the tiny ones, look at the dirty, sandaled ones, and look at the ones,  punctured and bleeding as He became sin for us.

Christ came to earth to lead an unprecedented revolution;

The revolution of the upside-down kingdom;

The movement of the mustard seed;

The movement of the tiny baby feet.

This movement Christ ushered into our world was one that those ruled by the prince of this world, Satan, cannot comprehend.  It is the revolution of sacrifice, surrender, and death to the flesh.  Its hallmark is humility, and its mobility seems to manifest a downward trend.  It leaves the prideful, arrogant, and power-hungry speechless, and yet somehow it seems to raise up the lowest of the low.  It cannot be trumped because it is what we are created for.  Ultimately, the first must be last, the leader must be the follower, and the weak are made strong.

He came to earth to present this offer:  If anyone is to follow me, he must first lay down his life. “If anyone wants to be my disciple, they must deny themselves, take up their cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23).

In his presence, the wealthy begin to grieve,  the sick become whole, and everyone is enraptured by tiny, squishy, unassuming baby feet.

But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world confound the mighty.   1 Cor. 1:27