6 Reasons why Christians should be careful about 'Footprints in the Sand'

Chung Yeung

In Christian popular culture in recent decades, one poem has caught the imagination of many Christians around the world. The poem, often titled ‘Footprints in the Sand’, is known to be the inspirations behind gospel songs and numerous Christian merchandizing products. It has been quoted in church services and funerals. Many believers have claimed to find comfort in the poem in times of distress. Yet how biblically and theologically sound is the poem? How should the poem be used in the Christian community today? What issues can arise if the poem becomes part of our understanding of the Christian faith?

A Theological Reflection is needed to address these questions. This article uses an expanded theological reflection model to analyze the experience, identify the theological issues, make connections between the poem and Scripture and Church Tradition, and finally develop new insights and ways of application regarding how Christians should approach the ‘Footprints’ poem and other similar discourse.

‘Footprints in the Sand’ describes a dream in which a man walks along a beach and sees the footprints that represent his own life journey and walk with God. There are two sets of footprints in the sand, one from the man and one from God. However, the man finds out at one point of the journey, there is only one set of footprints, and that it is from the time when he experienced the lowest, most difficult time of his life. He asks God why God has abandoned him during his time of suffering, leaving behind only one set of footprints. The poem ends with God’s comforting answer: the set of footprints is from God Himself because He carries the man in His arms through the difficult times.

The poem is indeed emotional, touching, and in some ways, romantic. The sentimental ending with God’s assurance of His presence surely contributes to the poem’s widespread popularity among Christians. The man in the poem has asked God the same question that many Christians have asked in times of frustration – Where is God when I need Him? Why has God abandoned me? Since there have been several deaths in my church congregation recently, I have heard many members who have lost loved ones asking the same question to God. It is easy to identify with the man’s sentiments in the poem because these sentiments are very human. Even Jesus has asked God, “eli eli lama sabachthani” when He was suffering on the cross. This is a sentiment that Jesus himself has experienced.

A closer look on the poem reveals some deeper theological questions about the nature of God, which can be evaluated against Scripture and Church Tradition. In the poem, the man clearly has specific expectations and understanding of what God is like. God takes the images of a human companion. One can imagine God is almost like a walking buddy. The man expects God to be literally walking with him side by side on his journey, as shown in the pair of footprints. God is expected to be present at all times of trouble and distress. This is understandable. Numerous Psalms in the Bible, especially Psalms 23, present a God who provides refuge and comfort to His people. The biblical narrative, from Exodus to Acts, clearly describes God as faithful in being with His people in times of need. ‘Footprints’ offers a loving, caring God who dwells among His people and provides comforts to those in need. Isaiah 46:4 also describes God carries His people to sustain them. ‘Footprints’ captures this imagery accurately. 

1. Our assurance is found in Jesus' death and resurrection, not by checking for individual signs 

Although this aspect of God's nature corresponds to the Biblical notion of God of love, there is a one-sided focus on only one aspect of the Christian understanding of faith. In the Church Tradition, God's omnipotence and absolute sovereignty is constantly emphasized in the teachings of Christianity throughout the centuries. In the Nicene Creed, the understanding of God concentrates on the divine nature of God: God is “the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.” The Nicene Creed also emphasizes the divinity of Christ as the “only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of Gods, Light of Light, very God of very God.”

In both the Orthodox and Catholic Tradition, a spiritual walk with God is therefore consistently focused on acknowledging and worshipping the Trinitarian God’s divinity. Very rarely has it conveyed an image of God as a personal, human companion. Undeniably, the Nicene Creed mentions that Christ has “suffered for us.” Yet this suffering is manifested in the act of incarnation by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and being “crucified under Pontius Pilate” as a symbol of God’s salvation plan in human history. The Creed explicitly states Christ’s victory over suffering through resurrection as Christ “sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again with glory.” The emphasis on Christ’s glorious victory over death is provided in the Creed as the answer to human suffering. Christ has suffered for all humanity for our salvation. This, together with the resurrection, is enough to show God has victory above suffering.

The focus is therefore quite different from the story of ‘Footprints in the Sand’ in both the questions they raise and the answers they provide. In the Christian Tradition, the question concentrates on who God is and whether Christ achieves salvation for humanity. God’s eternal victory is the core of the answer, as emphasized in almost all Christian creeds. Yet in the ‘Footprints’, the question only concerns the period of time when the individual is feeling distressed, and only on the personal expectations and needs of one individual. Although asking the question is not a sin, the man in the poem clearly loses sight of the big picture of eternal salvation in the Christian faith. 

2. God is reduced to a set of footprints or a walking buddy.

When God answers, “That set of footprints is mine because I carried you through the most difficult times,” God warmly satisfies the emotional need of the individual in the way he demands it. Yet God is reduced to a set of footprints which can be visibly checked and traced to provide emotional comfort. As the poem ends abruptly after God’s answer, the author sees no need to address the individual’s perspectives of God or to adjust his expectations from focusing on himself to focusing on who God truly is and God’s eternal purpose.

Protestantism does provide a different approach to the Christian understanding of relationship with God which can be closer to the picture presented by the ‘Footprints’ poem. The Protestant Tradition highlights the importance of personal salvation for each believer. The gospel presented by Luther puts a heavy emphasis on God’s grace and the forgiveness of sins. The process of salvation is essentially a reconciliation of a broken relationship between God and man. Luther, in A Practical Way to Pray, acknowledges that God’s grace is a refuge like a mighty fortress to which His people find protection.[1] Yet the picture drawn by Luther is not of a man searching for footprints.

3.  The answer to the man’s question (Where is God when I need Him?) is Christ on the cross, an eternal testimony of Christ's presence among humanity and His suffering for our sins. Checking for footprints at a certain period of time is irrelevant. 

The gospel under the Protestant Tradition is concerned solely with the issue of sins and God’s reconciliation with His people, not merely an emotional ‘fix’ for an individual’s emotional needs.

4. Man is accountable to God, not the other way round. 

The relationship between man and God portrayed in Luther’s works also poses a stark contrast to what is seen in ‘Footprints in the Sand’. Luther argues that every Christian believer is personally and directly accountable to God alone in all his deeds, thoughts and salvation. To Luther, every individual who knows the grace of God in Jesus Christ is set free to act on the basis of love, and is therefore not subject to no one except God.[2] Every Christian is held answerable to God, though the ‘Footprints’ story seems to suggest the other way round: the man checks if God is walking with him, asks God when he does not feel God’s presence, and God gives a satisfactory answer. God is reduced to an ‘attendant’ figure that provides companionship. The fact that the man does not even know God is carrying him in the story also poses another question of how much the man knows God and how closely he is following God.

The ‘Footprints’ story can also be read in the light of the image of God presented by contemporary Protestant theologian Karl Barth, as both carry a notion of a self-revealing God. Karl Barth argues that God is a ‘God of action’ throughout history. He believes that if God's being is detached from and not wholly present in his actions, then God's actions would not provide a reliable basis for knowing his being.[3] Barth appeals to Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus is the same yesterday, today forever” to show that God’s self-revelation is not only in the past (completed), but also present and future (contemporaneous).[4]

This echoes the ‘Footprints’ story in that Christians can expect God to actively reveal Himself, intervene and engage in our daily experience today. In this way, the Footprints story also corresponds to the modern culture that expects real personal experiences and continuous relational interactions. The reason why the story spreads globally across Christian communities is because it resonates what many Christians desire in their spiritual walk with God and how they picture God’s response to their needs in times of distress.

5. Christianity is about you following God, not God following you.

However, one way in which ‘Footprints in the Sand’ contradicts Scripture and Church Traditions, both Catholic and Protestant, is that the story clearly focuses on the question whether God is following the man, not whether the man is following God. The Old Testament consistently emphasizes the Israelites’ obedience to God and His law as the core issue of Israel’s salvation. In the New Testament, Christ also commands all Christians, “carry your cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24) Scripture demands absolute obedience in a Christian spiritual walk with God which entails self sacrifice and denial. An overuse of the ‘Footprints’ story in our culture may allow a distorted understanding of Christianity and wrong expectations of God to infiltrate our faith community.

6. Christianity is about meeting God face to face, repentance and be called a child of God, not about seeking a temporary 'fix'

The process of deconstructing the Footprints story under the spotlight of Scripture and Christian Traditions helps to generate new insights into how Christians should approach contemporary Christian popular discourse with caution. Cross references to biblical sources are crucial as popular discourse about God can easily ‘put human words into God’s mouth’ and distort true biblical teachings about God and the gospel. The analysis also highlights the importance of looking back at the cross and Jesus’ sacrifice, not other physical signs, as the assurance of salvation. Our spiritual walk with God is sustained by the cross which is revealed to us through the Scripture, not by checking for ‘footprints’ suggested by contemporary writings. Although Christians desire to see confirmation of God’s presence in our lives, it is important not to let our faith be limited to visible signs and temporary emotional comfort.

In Mark 5:25-34, the woman who has suffered from bleeding for twelve years seeks healing through Jesus’ supernatural powers which she has heard about. The healing takes place immediately. Yet Jesus demands the woman to come out from the crowd and to know Jesus face-to-face. Jesus does not allow the woman’s faith to be limited to a temporary satisfaction of needs. Jesus makes sure her faith involves receiving eternal forgiveness of sins and being called “daughter” of God. This is what the gospel is about.

The Church needs to be aware of ‘Christian’ discourse created by popular culture that does not accurately reflect the whole picture of the gospel, and should remind its members the importance of referring back to Scripture and Christ Himself. The Church’s teachings of the gospel must be bringing people to Jesus face-to-face and receive His forgiveness of sins and eternal life.




Bibliography

The Holy Bible, New International Version

Lull, Timothy. Ed. Martin Luther’s Basic Theological Writings (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2005)

McLeod, Frederick G. The Image of God in the Antiochene Tradition (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 1999)

Olson, Roger E. The Mosaic of Christian Belief: Twenty Centuries of Unity and Diversity (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002)

Pokrifka, Todd B. Redescribing God: The roles of Scripture, Tradition, and Reason in Karl Barth’s Doctrines of Divine, Unity, Constancy and Eternity (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2010)

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[1] Timothy Lull. Ed. Martin Luther’s Basic Theological Writings (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2005) p. 16.

[2] Timothy Lull. Ed. Martin Luther’s Basic Theological Writings (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2005) p. 386.

[3] Todd B Pokrifka. Redescribing God: The roles of Scripture, Tradition, and Reason in Karl Barth’s Doctrines of Divine, Unity, Constancy and Eternity (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2010) p. 124.

[4] Todd B Pokrifka. Redescribing God. p. 125.

Al-Qaeda's collective accomplishments and strengths

Excerpts from:  Cozzens, Jeffrey B. Ranstorp, Magnus. “The enduring Al-Qaeda threat: a network perspective” Contemporary Debates in Terrorism. pp. 94-96.

Al-Qaeda has provided its rank-and-file with both tangible and intangible boons. While many of the perceived personal 'benefits' of jihad and martyrdom for jihadi activists are described elsewhere (Wiktorowicz and Kaltenthaler, 2006), there are multiple profits that extend to the collective level that should be considered in an assessment of network viability. These accomplishments function as a bonding agent, essential to safeguard the network's internal commitment, persistence and attractiveness.

Collectively, AQ has provided its activists with a number of tangible accomplishments. However, perhaps none resonate as profoundly as the 11 September attacks. The fact that Ground Zero in New York City remains under construction testifies to the fact that Al-Qaeda was able to project power at a scale once held as the sole domain of states.     As polling data indicated in 2003, the attacks catalyzed deep admiration for AQ" corners of the majority Muslim world, even if this has since dwindled (Few Center for the People and the Press, 2003).

As al-Qirshi (2002) argues, the attacks demonstrated that the 'martyrdom operations of a few were sufficient to accomplish what the Soviet Union had been unable to achieve during the Cold War. Moreover, they exposed the 'hypocrisy and the tawagheef ('false gods') in the majority Muslim world, sparked a conflict that exposed 'Jewish and Crusader' ambitions in countries like Afghanistan and Iraq and revived the 'neglected obligation' of defending Muslims and their lands (al-Qirshi, 2002). We see evidence of these perceived benefits in the testimonies of individuals who became jihadi activists following 9/11 and subsequent coalition actions, and in fact, in direct video testimony from AQ itself in the weeks following the attack (Michael and Wahba, 2001).

Further, history tells us that we should not overlook AQ's ability to withstand a full frontal assault from coalition forces for a decade in the same area where the storied mujahideen confronted the Soviets. If the Arab Afghans' fight against the Soviets became the stuff of legends in jihadi circles, how could AQ's resiliency and survival in the face of a determined international coalition be seen as anything but an omen of divine favor and confirmation of their cause (Cozzens, 2009b)? Periodic operational highlights, from the 2005 London attacks to Humam al-Bawlawi's December 30, 2009 attack against US intelligence personnel at Camp Chapman - even if not on the scale of the 9/11 attacks - are thus conceived as mile markers on the road to inevitable victory (Brinkbaumer and Goetz, 2010). Moreover, it should be remembered that even failed plots such as the foiled bombing of air cargo flights originating: from Yemen are spun as strategic and propaganda victories by AQ media outlets (Ibrahim, 2010).

Finally, AQ ideologues such as the late Yusuf al-Uyayree spare no effort to highlight the network's alternative metrics of victory (al-Uyayree, n. d.). These are designed to strengthen resolve for AQ|s activists when progress on strategic objectives may appear stalled, and cement unity of purpose in combatting AQ's enemies (Cozzens, 2009a).

Finally, the inspirational impact and promotion of AQ's jihadi combat veterans (sometimes called ghazis in the English language jihadi literature, meaning 'warrior' or 'raider') on retaining and attracting other militants cannot be overlooked. The British AQ militant behind the infamous 'Gas Limos' plot, Dhiren Barot, wrote: 'Simply interacting with ghazis . . . can help to alter one's outlook and influence oneself to procure a taste for this noble path in their blood, making it akin to their nature' (al-Hindi, 1999). The authors developed this point further in a 2010 publication on jihadist foreign fighters (Cilluffo, Cozzens and Ranstorp, 2010: 32). It is difficult to overlook the ghazi paradigm as a critical component of AQ's retention and mobilization strategy (Yousafzai and Moreau, 2010).

AQ possesses all of the characteristics of a network built for survival. It leverages its manpower and geographic scope to mobilize, and fosters an organizational identity and culture that yields committed operatives. Its network components also work synergistically towards common goals. Further, beyond the personal benefits of martyrdom and jihad, AQ can claim collective tangible and intangible accomplishments, It also appears to maintain a systematic plan for key leader replacement, and promotes jihadi archetypes like the ghazi as a means to build depth in numbers. Based on the social science research concerned with network advancement, our brief assessment suggests that the AQ network is indeed viable. And if the AQ_ network is viable, it is logically a threat to the international community. But what form will the threat take?

First, most Western analysis struggles to accurately conceptualize other cultures, high-context societies or the nature of the threat from AQ. When speaking of AQ’s future threat, different concepts of time and space are involved between the network and its enemies (us), and alternative perceptions reign concerning how war is made and how winning is understood (Ranstorp, 2008). These differences are compounded by the countless definitions of 'threat' that litter the security studies lexicon, and multiple, even competing strategic visions within A Q_ itself. Critical differences exist in societal, tactical and strategic thinking across cultures - and often between our understanding of AQ and the network's own self-conceptions. This paradigmatic contrast between the West and AQ has been described as 'functionalism' pitted against 'culturalism' (Cozzens, 2006).

Second, while difficult to pinpoint, the AQ_ threat will continue to shock and surprise, given the complexity of its internal dynamics, history of scalable wildcard operations and the tremendous difficulties inherent to predicting precise forms of such sudden, violent and often game-changing eruptions. Indeed, there are limits to inductive reasoning when considering the possibilities of large, sudden and unexpected shocks to the international system, what have been described variously as 'Black Swans' or 'Wild Cards' (Ranstorp, 2008; Taleb, 2007). US Army Major Nidal Hasan's shooting rampage is indicative of the sudden and unexpected nature of this threat, as are the often-surprising provocations that fuel it, such as the Danish Muhammad cartoons controversy.

Finally, despite the inherent difficulty of conceptualizing the holistic AQ threat, the international community can be assured that the future will consist not only of kinetic attacks, but also strikes designed to fray social and economic cohesion along pre-existing lines within targeted societies - especially during a time when Western intelligence and military resource are stretched thin. This AQ strategy already targets the United States and European Union countries, as is discussed at great length in the jihadi literature, and is being violently played out in 'fault-line' conflicts in places like Pakistan, Iraq and Somalia.

Hoffman's erudite 2010 assessment in the Washington Post poignantly highlights this theme: 'Al-Qaeda's newfound vitality is the product of a fresh strategy that plays to its networking strength ... In contrast to its plan on Sept. 11, which was to deliver a knock-out blow to the United States, al-Qaeda's leadership has now adopted a "death by a thousand cuts'" approach' (Hoffman, 2010).

Cozzens, Jeffrey B. Ranstorp, Magnus. “The enduring Al-Qaeda threat: a network perspective” Conteporary Debates in Terrorism. pp. 94-96.

Terrorism and Democracy – two sides of the same coin?

Ironically, terrorism in its original context was closely associated with the ideals of virtue and democracy. The revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre firmly believed that virtue was the mainspring of a popular government at peace, but that during the time of revolution must be allied with terror in order for democracy to triumph. He appealed famously to ‘virtue, without which terror is evil; terror, without which virtue is helpless’ and proclaimed, ‘Terror is nothing but justice, prompt, severe and inflexible; it is therefore an emanation of virtue.’

Hoffman, Bruce. Inside Terrorism. pp. 15-16