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Another Shoe Illustration


It’s time for yet another illustration from my days as a shoe salesman.

I used to be a shoe salesman. I’ve worked at four different shoe stores. The different stores had different dress codes. Some were fairly dressy, others were more casual. But there’s one item that all stores had in common: you have to wear the shoes we sell. Why? We sold expensive, orthopedically-correct shoes to people who worked on their feet all day. It’s pretty tough to convince someone they need $150 shoes, when you’re wearing $15 shoes. If you want them to believe these shoes are worth it, you’ve got to show them that you believe it, too. That means putting on the shoes.

So what does transforming soles have to do with transforming souls?

Following Christ is expensive. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24) It’s pretty tough to convince someone they need to deny themselves and take up their cross, while you’re living for yourself in comfortable complacency. If you want them to believe that following Christ is worth it, you’ve got to show them that you believe it, too. That means putting on Christ.

Some clarifications are in order. Jesus warned against hypocritically broadcasting our religious devotion for all to see. (Matthew 6:5) Christian “virtue signaling” is not evangelism. What’s more, the power of God for salvation is not found in the gospel messenger, but in the gospel message (see Romans 1:16, 1 Corinthians 2:1-5). You don’t need to live a perfect life in order to minister to others; you need to point others to the perfect life of Christ.

And yet the New Testament is clear that our behavior can either support or undermine the credibility of our message. Jesus himself said, “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16) Since Jesus made this point right after the Beatitudes, it’s a safe bet that the “good works” he has in mind include works of mercy and peacemaking—works of those who are pure in heart and hungry for righteousness, of meek souls who endure persecution with joy. Do our lives display the actions and attitudes of those who know mercy and grace? Do we live like men and women who have gladly paid that price—and who will gladly keep paying?

It’s not that words aren’t necessary—clearly they are. “How are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?” (Romans 10:14) But just as God uses our imperfect words to stir up faith in his perfect word, he also uses our imperfect lives to demonstrate that Christ is alive and at work in people’s lives today. Some will be threatened by that power, but others will be transformed by it. To be a transformational church, we need to be a transformed church.