In the window of a shoemaker’s shop in Northern England several years ago a pair of shoes was placed on display that was almost a yard long. It would either take someone with a distorted sense of humor or else a king-sized “under-standing” to even contemplate putting that much leather on and walking away.
The cobbler had made the shoes himself. On a little card beside them were these words: “Yours for nothing – if you can wear them.” So far as I know, no one ever showed up with feet big enough to lay claim to those shoes. If someone had, it would have been the first time in history when two feet equaled two yards.
One of the obvious lessons we can learn from the cobbler’s creation is that God is always handing a pair of large empty shoes to each of us with the hope that we will be willing to try to fill them and wear them. He has a specific purpose for every person in the world, a purpose which no other person can fill. Every church across America has what is usually called a Nominating Committee.
The responsibility of a church Nominating Committee is to choose and recommend individuals to fill every position in the church organization. If your church does not have such a committee, it certainly needs one. It is possible that you will sooner or later be asked to assume a specific position of service as a Sunday School teacher, member of an important committee, deacon, choir member, youth leader, nursery worker, etc. Finding members of the church to fill pairs of empty shoes is extremely important. It can determine whether or not your church succeeds in carrying out its mission.
God will never ask you to wear another person’s shoes. However, He does ask each of us to wear shoes which He has designed for us individually. Some of the empty shoes you are asked to fill may seem larger than you think you can and should wear. Fortunately, God measures faithfulness not on the size of our feet, but on the size of our willingness to discover His will and do it in our daily lives.
If the Nominating Committee of your church shows you a pair of empty shoes, examine them carefully. Before you turn them down by saying, “They are far too large for me to wear,” talk to God about it. Listen to what He has to say. He just possibly may say to you, “Is your faith big enough to wear them for my glory? If your faith is big enough to put them on you will learn that I will walk with you and fill your heart with joy.”
You will put them on and wear them if you follow the advice in this beautiful poem by Christina Rossetti:
“What can I give Him?
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring Him a lamb;
If I were a wise man
I would do my part—
Yet what can I give Him,
Give Him my heart.”
The Paper Pulpit 
Leave a Reply