Choosing Shoes
What shoes did you put on this morning?
Did you have to make a decision about your shoes, or did you automatically reach for a specific pair?
We may not think a lot about the shoes we wear (although, some people do think a lot about the shoes they wear). Many people in the world don’t own shoes. And this was true during the first century AD when Paul wrote his letter to the church in Ephesus.
Typically we think everyone wore sandals – something like my Teava sandals here. And moderately affluent people did, but many or even most people did not even have somethings this basic.
The ideal was something more like this:
Pretty, but not practical.
Of course, the ultimate and true first century sandal did not look like this pump, but it was about as practical. They were not even worn outside. When the owner of such shoes went for a visit, these precious sandals were carried by servants.
This is the practice John the Baptist is referring to in Matthew 3:11?
“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.”
