Most babies go
through a number of stages in learning how to walk. Typically, they start crawling, begin to pull
themselves up and learn how to lean on either something stationary or their
parents, brother or sister and then finally they can take a few steps before
tumbling down.
My kids were
different. I remember my daughter
especially going from standing up and leaning, to leaning forward enough that
she literally starting running before even walking.
There is
something to be said about learning how to walk.
The Bible has a
lot to say about walking. There are
verses on 'walking in the light', 'walking in the Spirit' and 'walking with
God'. The Apostle Paul also uses a
similar theme and tells us in his epistle to the Colossians that we are to
“walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10)
Just as there are
characteristics of a baby learning how to walk, the Apostle Paul tells us there
are characteristics in what it means to walk worthy of our calling.
One of the first
things that Paul says is that we are to ‘fully please Him” (verse 10). Pleasing God means that we are more
interested in pursuing a relationship with God rather than exercising a religion. God is all about relationships as Jesus was
actually the most critical of those that were the most religious.
In the same verse
we are told that we are to be fruitful in every good work. Good works are a result of our walk and
relationship and are not the means by which we please God.
Finally in verse 10, Paul says we are to be
increasing in the knowledge of God. Proverbs 1:7 says
that the Fear (a healthy respect and reverence) of the Lord is the beginning of
knowledge. When we know God, we
naturally want to serve and obey Him out of gratitude.
Next, in verse
11, we are given what I believe is the more difficult task. This worthy walk is with “patience and longsuffering with joy”. I have to admit that for me, patience isn’t
on the top of my list of virtues, and 'with joy' would be a stretch. However, this patience is primarily directed at others.
In his epistle to the Ephesians, Paul
modifies patience as 'bearing with one
another': This words that are translated
‘bearing with one another are the Greek words ana and echó that literally means to HOLD THROUGH. The idea is
to hang on to each other, not letting the other person leave or being
dismissive ourselves.
It's important to note that this idea of
walking worthy of our calling is not to say that if we walk worthy THEN God
will love us. No, it’s actually the
opposite, because God loved us first, we have the capacity to love HIM and walk
in a way that is worthy of that love.
