Kick Off the Dust

~~~ Proverbs 30: 5-9 ~~~ Psalm 119 ~~~ Luke 9:1-6 ~~~

 

"...shake the dust from your feet..."

 

This is a great visual that I can relate to a few things in my life.

We tend to carry our extra baggage within ourselves for a long time.

Mostly it is emotional hurts or misunderstandings that we just cannot let go of.

 

What if, as on the airlines, you had to pay a price for

carrying around this extra baggage?

What if you were limited to just how much

you could carry in your heart?

 

Well guess what, you are paying a price;

it is a price with no monetary value so it may go unnoticed.

You pay the price with a heaviness in your heart that just won't go away.

 

After some time of carrying this extra baggage you may also become physically ill.

 

Did you ever watch a duck dunking itself in a pond?

It dives in head first and then pops up.

The water runs right off its back as if it were not even in the water.

 

Thus the origin of the saying 'like water off a duck's back'.

 

Sometimes I wish it were that simple to let go of offenses.

 

Kicking the dust from your feet is something that will need to be done

many times through out this journey we call life.

 

Luke also writes about taking nothing for the journey...nothing material.

 

The psalmist sings...

"...thy word is a lamp to my feet."

 

If we keep our eyes on Jesus and keep his word alive

within our heart and soul;

we will manage to kick off the dust.

 

IF we allow the 'dust' to accumulate on our feet we risk

becoming distracted from the real goal.

The real goal here is too walk with the Lord...

to spread his good news.

 

 

This rich image of feet causes me to also reflect on the feet of Jesus.

Everywhere he went, other than the times he was in a boat, Jesus was walking.

His feet too became 'dusty', but he never let it deter him from his mission.

 

I am reminded of a song titled How Beautiful by Twila Paris

The lyrics speak of the hands and feet of Jesus.

He walked along the lone dusty road to Calvary.

 

He kicked off the dust through the mercy he graciously extends to us.

What better image of forgiveness than to 'kick off the dust'?

Once the dust is kicked off it falls back to the ground...

it is no longer part of our 'baggage'.

 

Next time you want to react to a hurt or a wrongdoing

'kick off the dust'

and let it fall to the ground.

 

Kicking off the dust is equivalent to Forgiveness.

 

How beautiful the feet that walked the dusty roads to the cross.

Take nothing but the words of the Lord.

He will provide all that you need for the journey.

God Bless you and Keep you.