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.
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.
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.
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
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)
[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.
