The Beautiful Long Walk

-


Scripture:

Eph. 2:10 For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

Observation:

The beautiful tapestry of God’s creation includes each and every single human being. We are as creatively produced as the lyrics of a poem or the chords of an orchestral tune which brings one to tears. Intentionality on the part of God to create humanity in the very image and likeness of the Creator means that we reflect Christ in our actions. God has prepared a pathway for our lives, a way in which we are to walk, day in and day out. This way of life, in the Greek is really the walk, and it’s a way in which we will walk for the remainder of our lives. Once we are “in Christ Jesus,” then we live a restored life, in the image of God, in which we remain on the pathway of new life, until we come to the end of the journey. It is a beautiful long walk, as God’s creativity is experienced along the way. 

Application:

Salvation is never by works, but it’s interesting how quickly the author of the Epistle brings up the need for good works. That moment in which our lives are transformed is dramatic. The entire trajectory of life is changed and suddenly we find ourselves on a new pathway, and this one that is already prepared for us. 

We live near a beautiful big park where our family loves to go on walks. Every time we have gone we have taken a different path or trail. I’ve been trying to get my husband to try out the large paved bike/walking path and see where it goes, for I understand it leads you for miles and miles. Instead, we seem to get sidetracked by trying out the first little path that we see. We have ended up on two rocky trails that lead through the forest. While it’s beautiful, I’m never quite sure where we are going to end up. Also, I worry about twisting my ankle. I keep pointing out to my husband that in the distance I see a beautiful asphalt covered walkway that seems to lead across beautiful hills for miles. I’d like to try out that place sometime! 

God has creatively prepared a pathway for us, and invites us to take a walk together with him. It’s a beautiful journey that may lead to places that we would never have imagined. Along the way we are to practice the good works of Jesus Christ. The path may not always be smooth, but it will take us to the places where they need to experience Jesus. Throughout life we are to keep on walking — never stopping. 

For those who would like to simply stop and say that we have done our time, we are missing the mark. This walking is to be our way of life. Touching the world in her deepest needs is to be a way of life. Continual spiritual growth and movement in the direction of Jesus is to be the norm. The result is a life in Christ that is a beautiful, long walk. 

Prayer:


Lord, I want to keep walking on your pathway today.  Amen. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Take Off Your Ornaments

-
Scripture: Ex. 33:4 ¶ When the people heard these harsh words, they mourned, and no one put on ornaments. Ex. 33:5 For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, and I will decide what to do to you.’” Ex. 33:6 Therefore the Israelites stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward. Observation: The people had sinned before God by making and worshiping the golden calf!  They had taken their golden jewelry — the earrings and other items they had gotten from the Egyptians and used them to create an idol.  Now, in an act of humility and repentance they were to take off all of their jewelry and ornaments.  It was a time of mourning over their sin and it included intentional action on the part of the Israelites.  Application: We don’t do all that well with humility and repentance!  It seems that we live in a ti...
Read more

Does God Value Boys More than Girls?

-
Scripture: Lev. 12:1 ¶ The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Lev. 12:2 Speak to the people of Israel, saying: ¶ If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be ceremonially unclean seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. Lev. 12:3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Lev. 12:4 Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing, or come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are completed. Lev. 12:5 If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days. Lev. 12:6 ¶ When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. Lev. 12:7 He shall offer it before the LORD, and make atonement on her ...
Read more

On Grief and A Flute Player

-
Scripture: Matt. 9:23 When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, Matt. 9:24 he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. Matt. 9:25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. Matt. 9:26 And the report of this spread throughout that district. Observation: This is a simple story which we have heard or read numerous times. Jesus heals the little girl and the people rejoice. But at the moment in which he arrives at the home he encounters the professional mourners. These are the flute players, the ones who have come to make a great noise about the child’s death. It is the flute player that testifies to the fact that she is truly dead. Also, flutes were generally employed when it came to the death of a child. The whole community would therefore understand that it is a child who has died in this home. The flute player is doing the job they have ...
Read more