The Grace of Readiness

“‘ Have your feet shod with the preparedness of the gospel of peace.”” — Epu. vi. 15. THESE are surely the feet of a herald, shod for swift and ready movement. This is a cheery courier, bright in his alertness, prompt and eager to carry abroad the good news of redeeming grace. He is like a man whose feet are nimble, whose shoes are exactly the right size and shape; fitting him like a glove, giving him comfort and freedom, enabling him to stride out on any road, and to walk all day without fagging. Is there anything more harassing, more embarrassing than ill-fitting shoes, or shoes that are loosely tied? Is there anything more wearying than shoes that pinch and cripple you? They add dead weight to all your movement. But to have just the right shoes, wedded to your feet in perfect union — they almost add wings to your feet. And this is the simile which is used to describe the feet of the herald of the Lord. There is to be a comfort and a nimbleness about his feet, a preparedness and readiness of movement, an immediateness and a swiftness which will make him spring to the call of his Master, and speed upon his errand along any road, and not stumble.

Such is the man who is now before us — a winged-footed man, ready for any charge. The sudden call finds him ready for the road. ‘“How soon can you be ready?” said Mr. Gladstone to General Gordon, when he proposed to send him to the Soudan. “I am ready now,” answered Gordon. His feet were shod with preparedness. In my Church in New York I saw sixty or seventy Salvation Army officers receive their commissions for home and foreign service. Not one of them had any idea where the command would send him, whether to a New York slum, or to the slopes of the Rockies, or to the hinterland of Brazil, or to a crowded city in Japan. But they all stood in readiness, eager for their going, and as they received their commission they welcomed it with a salute, with a joyful ‘‘ Hallelujah,”’

or “Praise the Lord.” Their feet were shod with the preparedness of the gospel of peace.

It may be helpful to look at one or two of this type of herald as they are revealed to us in the Word of God. Here, then, is one of them, ‘“‘ As much as in me is I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are in Rome also.” Great cities had a peculiar fascination for the Apostle Paul. He had a passion for their strategic centres. He coveted and courted them as the meetingplaces of many roads, and he could send his er reset eases eee ce ae 138 The Grace of Readiness

gospel news up these great diverging roads to the ends of the world. Whenever a call came to him from a great city it stirred him like the sound of a trumpet. On the other hand, if he heard the trumpet calling to some smaller and quieter place he was shod in readiness for the journey, and the little place became to him the centre of the universe. And even when he went to big cities he was ready to join little fellowships. He was ready to go to Philippi, and when he ‘got to Philippi he was ready to join a little company of women who met by the river-side to pray. Wherever the trumpet sounded his feet were ready for the road. Always ready! I do not wonder that at the end of life’s long day his feet were still shod with the same grace, and that he faced the last bit of rough, dark road with this splendid confidence, “‘ I am now ready to be offered.” Here is another Scriptural word which reveals the herald of the Lord: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings!” Surely it is the swiftness of the herald that is here

so beautiful! The wearied folk in the city were watching every road on the mountain for the coming of the herald. Their eyes were strained with watching. But at length the herald appeared, and his very speed filled them with hope and cheer. No one would run as he was running unless he brought good news. A bringer of bad news would have fallen lame, or he would loiter; he would hang back in his depression, and he would defer his sad tale. But the man of good news would be breathless in the speed of his coming. ‘‘ How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings!’ Such a herald half tells his story before he arrives. His speed is part of his evangel. Who does not know such people? If we are in trouble they are at our door almost before we have made a ery. ‘‘ How soon you got here! However have you come?” The secret is here — their feet were shod with the readiness of the gospel of peace. Thrice blessed are they whose very speed is part of the message of grace.

One more glimpse of these “‘ Aye, ready!”’ folk. Here is one who is described as “ready to every good work.” That man wears fine shoes. They fit splendidly. They are good for any road, and, like the shoes which the three sisters showed Christian in the House Beautiful, “‘ they never wear out.” What lovely characters they are, these folk who are ready for any bit of work! They are not choosers of prominent places; they love the quieter posts just as well.. If an outstanding mission falls to their lot they are ready. If it is an obscure bit of work they are just as ready. If there’s any gap to fill, “ask Mrs,... she’s always ready!” If there’s a stretch of humdrum road to trudge, “ask Mr.... he is always ready!” Yes, the world owes nearly all its comfort and blessedness, under Christ, to those whose feet are shod with the preparedness of the gospel of peace.

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