Focus: The Faith Walk

Text: Col.2:6

"As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so WALK ye IN him."

We have received Christ Jesus into our lives and He lives in us by the Holy Spirit. That is our spiritual experience and reality. Receiving Christ is the same thing as believing in Christ. Believing in Christ is the same thing as having repented from our sins, and it also means that we have been born again. We have entered into the kingdom of God and we have a clear vision and understanding of what the kingdom of God is about.

Now the Apostle Paul is exhorting us to show proof that we have received Christ into our lives, which is walking IN Him. Christ is the sphere in which our walk is to be conducted. We now live in Christ's world. He is the center and circumference of our new life. We do not only belong to Him; we also live in Him. He is the axis around which we rotate or revolve. He is in us and we are in Him. We derive our identity and receive our destiny from Him. According to Paul, it is in Him that "we live, move and have our being."

Also, in Christ we find cohesion and coherence. In Christ we realize harmony in our lives and make melody to the Lord in our hearts. Paul by the Spirit requires of us to walk in Christ. Walking in Christ is a habitual, progressive and continuous thing. It is an intentional and responsible thing. It is a noticeable action. People see us and know that divine change has occurred and is occurring in us. They see the life of Christ reflected in the way we live and conduct ourselves in the world. They see Christ becoming prominent and preeminent in our lives, apart from just being present in us.

Let's see another aspect of our Christian walk. The Word of God says, "And Enoch walked WITH God… And Enoch walked WITH God… Noah walked WITH God" (Gen.5:22,24; 6:9). We walk IN Christ and we walk WITH God. We move in company with God. We are associated or connected in our walk with God. Amos asked, "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" (Ams.3:3). We are, spiritually speaking, in agreement with God. We are in communion with Him and we are going in the same direction and arriving at the same destination. 

We are journeying together with our God. We are not traveling alone. He has not abandoned us in this daily spiritual walk. He is with us.

In closing, let's see one more aspect of our walk. God says to Abraham, "Walk BEFORE me, and be thou perfect" (Gen.17:1). We walk IN Christ, WITH God, and BEFORE God. Walking before God implies freedom. God is saying, 'Feel free in my presence.' It also means being conscious of the presence of God. We need to know that God is watchful of our lifestyle. He sees how we live. Nothing we say or do is hidden from His sight. He dictates, directs and guides our walk.

I pray God to grant you all the grace you need to walk in, with and before Christ.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter