I've Got Shoes!

Some boots I found on a porch in North Florida!

Just after this last Christmas, my husband- sort of in jest, asked me, “So what did you get for Christmas?” I replied, “I got shoes!” Just then, I was reminded of an old song that I haven’t thought about in over 34 years! It took me a while to recall all of it. It was an old southern spiritual called, “Gonna Shout All Over God’s Heaven”. We used to sing it a lot at our weekly youth group, called “Ranch”. One of the verses goes like this…

"I’ve got shoes, you’ve got shoes


All of God’s children got shoes!


When I get to Heaven goin’ to put on my shoes


Goin’ to walk all over God’s Heaven - Heaven!"

I was so excited about remembering this song, that I decided to do a little study on shoes (sandals) in the Bible. There were many references. These are my favorite pairs.

Dirty Shoes -Take off your shoes, when meeting with God: God appeared to Moses through a Burning Bush in the desert and said to him, “…Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” Exodus 3:5

As we walk along outside, our shoes are getting real dirty, picking up all sorts of dirt, germs and grime. So it is with our lives as we are exposed to the world, through the media, books and people, our minds are picking up all kinds of negative things. When we meet with God at Church or in our devotions, we should first, “take off our shoes” – confess our sins and come clean in our spirit in order to hear and receive what He has for us.

Durable Sandals! - “And I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet.” Deuteronomy 29:5

God took care of the Israelites during their 40 years of wandering in the desert! Their clothes and shoes didn’t wear out!
Are your circumstances looking pretty bad? Remember that the Lord promises to take of us.

Confirmation Sandal – Boaz negotiated with the next of kin for Ruth’s inheritance and marriage: -“Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging, to confirm anything: one man took off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was a confirmation in Israel. Therefore the close relative said to Boaz, 'Buy it for yourself.' So he took off his sandal.” Ruth 4:7-8

Sandals, back in Old Testament times, were probably one of a kind, a personal, treasured possession, not mass produced like today. The simple act of giving your sandal to another in front of witnesses settled and confirmed an agreement between the two people. The owner of the shoe went home half bare foot and would remember the agreement every time he wanted to wear the shoes – but couldn’t because one was missing! Wouldn’t that be nice to have today? Don’t have to go through all the “red tape” and hire lawyers!

Untouchable Sandals – John the Baptist said of Jesus, “…’I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.’” Luke 3:16

Why was John the Baptist, or anyone else not worthy? Because, it was the Sandal of the Son of God!

Love Shoes: a gift- “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.” Luke 15:23

The protocol son lost all of his inheritance and came back to his father with nothing – naked. The father loved him so much that right away, took him in, clothed him and gave him shoes. This is a great picture of God’s love for us!

Gospel Shoes -part of the Armor of the Lord: “… shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;” Ephesians 6:15
The Roman soldier was in Paul’s mind when he wrote about the Christian armor that we should wear everyday. The soldier’s sandal had hob nails on the soles to give them more traction and stability to walk on rough terrain. They left prints in the dirt wherever they were at. We should be taking the gospel of peace out into the world and leave an imprint of God’s love and mercy to all who it touches.

Heavenly Shoes: The Bible doesn’t say if we will have shoes in heaven, but it does describe what kind of streets will be there…

“The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.” Revelation 21:21

Heaven will have streets of pure gold. Although shoes like my granddaughters’, pictured above, would be really cool, I would like to think that our shoes up there would be pure white – like comfortable cushy slippers – Because, after all, we will be HOME!