He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. (1 John 2:6)
The word “walking” speaks of regularity, of moving at a certain pace. The Bible tells us in Genesis 5 about Enoch, who walked with God. But what does it mean to “walk with God”? Is it just a religious cliché? The prophet Amos asked, “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” (Amos 3:3). The idea is to be walking in pace with someone, in harmony with another. I have a problem with this when I walked with my wife. I always walk a little faster than she does. I will walk ahead. I’ll stop. Then she will catch up with me. So I’ll walk more slowly, but the next thing I know, I’m walking fast again. When it comes to walking with God, some of us run ahead of Him. Some of us lag behind. We need to move in harmony with Him. We need to stay close to Him, and make a continual commitment to do so.
But what does this mean in practice? How do we do this? It means we take time for the things of God. It means when we get up in the morning, we take time to read the Bible. If we neglect the Word of God, it will show in our lives. Abiding in Jesus also means that we spend time in fellowship with God’s people. Make time for the things of God. Don’t wait for time to simply materialize; deliberately carve out room in your schedule. If it means an hour less of sleep, fine. If it means skipping a meal, okay. If it means missing a television program, so be it. Do what you need to do, because these things are essential to spiritual growth, to abiding with God, and to bearing spiritual fruit.
And it is a walk—the best of all walks—that will bring indescribable richness to your daily life.