Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. [Colossians 2:6-7 (ESV)]
While visiting family in California, I joined my daughter-in-law and her walking group on their morning hike. The leader advised us that it was about a six mile walk—what she didn’t mention was it was all uphill for the first three plus miles. Although we started off together, the group quickly fragmented. The leader and some exceptionally fit and fast walkers were in the lead. I was in the middle group; unfamiliar with the area, I was not about to lose sight of our leader and risk getting lost. Behind us was another group and, bringing up the rear, were three stragglers who abandoned us within the first twenty minutes. After an hour of walking uphill, we finally reached level ground and heaved sighs of relief. The dozen remaining walkers stopped briefly while our leader explained the rest of the course—about a mile more of climbing before starting the descent back to the parking lot. At that point, mutiny occurred and more than half the group decided to take an easier and mostly downhill route back. Used to the flatlands of southwest Florida, I was happy to join my daughter-in-law in her desertion.
While not everyone in the hiking group chose to walk that day, Christians are expected to walk with Jesus every day. Just thinking about Him or praying is not enough—walking implies action. We’re to show up every morning for our walk, rain or shine. On my recent hike, only a few kept pace with the leader. When we walk with Jesus, however, there’s no lagging behind; we keep His pace. In fact, we walk in His footsteps—not behind him, not around him and certainly not ahead of him. Although some people deserted our group as soon as it became difficult, walking in Jesus means we don’t quit when faced with challenges. When Jesus takes us on a difficult uphill route, we’re not allowed to rebel when we disagree with His plans. Jesus told the disciples it wouldn’t be easy but, like our hiking leader, He rarely explains His entire plan. That’s why it’s so important to walk with him; if we lag behind or barge ahead on our own, we’ll lose sight of Him and get hopelessly lost.
Walking in Jesus doesn’t mean occasionally getting together for a stroll or that we’ll meet Him if and when our paths happen to cross. It doesn’t mean we just wave and call out casual greeting when we feel like it and it certainly doesn’t mean we get to quit when the going gets tough. Walking in Him is a 24/7 lifetime commitment.
Unlike our walking leader, who planned the same route and established the same pace for fifteen different women of varying ages and abilities, Jesus designs a route and sets a pace that is uniquely designed for each one of us. We’ll never be alone and, while the path may be challenging, it will always be doable—but only if we walk in Him.
Several “Nancy” comics have inspired my writing and I was curious about the strip’s artist/writer, Guy Gilchrist. From the tenor of his work, I was not surprised to learn that he is a Christian but that was not always so. As a boy, he was poor, lonely, abused and searching for someone and something in which to believe. Missing a dad, he found a father figure in an unlikely place—television—and in a remarkable person—a radio, television and movie star by the name of Roy Rogers. Since there was no difference between Rogers’ screen persona and the man himself, Gilchrist chose an excellent role model in this man of integrity. Kind and honest, Rogers was a devout Christian who stood for decency, truth and justice. Gilchrist, however, didn’t know about his hero’s faith until many years later. When the young cartoonist was unsure how to behave, he’d look to the singing cowboy and ask himself, “What would Roy do?” He knew his cowboy hero would always take the right course of action. Of course, the boy didn’t know that the Christian entertainer had his own model for behavior: Jesus. While Gilchrist was asking himself what Roy would do, the star was probably asking himself, “What would Jesus do?”
O Lord, hear me praying; listen to my plea, O God my King, for I will never pray to anyone but you. Each morning I will look to you in heaven and lay my requests before you, praying earnestly. [Psalm 5:1-3 (TLB)]
If I told you that 88% of Americans own four or five of these, you’d probably think of televisions until I told you that less than a fifth of Americans actually use them regularly. It’s the Bible—almost all of us have more than one and yet few of us ever open it more than a few times a year.
I recently walked by a home that has a large sign at its front door: “Smile, you’re on camera!” We’ve got baby monitors and nanny cams and can see who is at the door with a glance at our cell phones! Cameras are disguised as working clocks, lightbulbs, phone chargers and smoke detectors. No moment is private if a cell phone is nearby and our most embarrassing moments may find their way onto Facebook or YouTube. Police have body cams, cyclists have Go-Pros, drivers have dash cams, drones can watch us sunbathing in the yard, and schools embed RFID chips in student ID badges. We’re even monitored while in department store dressing rooms (an unsettling thought when trying on bathing suits!) Two years ago, hidden cameras were found in a beach house that was rented out to unsuspecting vacationers. Cameras are everywhere and no place is private; this whole surveillance thing is rather disquieting.
Devotions of the Heart 