How many different types of walking are there? Have you ever thought about it? I was reviewing a lesson for Sunday School and was considering a few things about walking. First, you never run before you walk and never walk before you crawl. So as babes in Christ we will be crawling. We must be felled to our knees before we can even begin walking again.
Paul talks about walking in Ephesians. He starts in Ephesians 2:1-11. He is referring to the "old" walk. That is, the way we lived before we became children of God. It sort of reminds me of a rags to riches kind of thing. We are walking, but maybe not that gracefully and then we have Christ come into our lives and we see now what it means to walk in grace. When our new life begins, we are to start a whole new walk and after we get up off our knees to begin our new walk, it should be at a different pace and on a different path than the previous walk. Also, notice that he always refers to our travels in Christ as walks and not marathons!
What happens when we walk rather than run? Do you see more and hear more? How does it affect you differently? You probably aren't out of breath or anything from walking and you can take your time and even appreciate what you encounter along the way. You can contemplate your steps before each one lands, you can think quietly, you can get to your destination at a steady pace.
There are several different types of walks...humanly speaking. We have the walk that bounces along, the sauntering walk, the purposeful walk, and the childlike walk. The list goes on. How are you walking in Christ? Is it a walk that can be easily followed or would someone behind you stumble trying to imitate your walk? In the snow this winter I contemplated this a little more as my daughter tried to follow behind me in my snow tracks and could not. It was easier for her to try and make her own path. Of course, each of us should be making our own path anyway, but in the beginning we may just be following behind someone else. Just a little bit of food for thought.
