By Rev Victor Neill
'Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called‘ (Eph 4 v 1)
In previous Bible Thoughts we thought about the Christian life as a race, as a battle and today we want to think of it as ‘a walk‘. 'Walk‘ is suggestive of our manner of living - our habitual practice. The way we walk will be governed by whom we choose to follow. Our Lord Jesus said ‘I am the Light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life‘ (John 8 v 12). So we must turn from going our own way and instead follow Jesus, that means committing ourselves to Him and welcoming Him into our lives.
So how can we ‘walk worthy of our vocation - our calling’ as believers? Paul in Gal 5 v 16 writes ‘walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh' another translation puts it this way ‘Let your steps be guided by the Spirit and you will never gratify the cravings of your earthly nature'. Believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. It is by His power that we are enabled to overcome sinful inclinations and to ‘walk in newness of life (Rom 6 v 4) living our lives in a new way that honours our Saviour. The Psalmist declared 'I will walk in thy truth' (Ps 86 v 11). That means we must be obedient to the truth as it is revealed in God’s Word and seek to follow it. We are also called to ‘walk in love as Christ also hath loved us' (Eph 5 v 2) it could be translated ‘Live a life of love, following the example of Christ'.
In 1st Cor 13 we are told how this love of Christ in our hearts will outwork itself in our daily walk. 'Charity (love) suffereth long (is patient), and is kind; love envieth not (never jealous), love vaunteth not it self (is not arrogant) is not puffed up (does not put on airs) doth not behave itself unseemly (is never rude) seeketh not her own (never selfish) is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil (not quick to take offence, keeps no score of wrongs) rejoiceth not in iniquity (is never glad when others go wrong) but rejoiceth in the truth (but rejoices at the victory of truth) beareth all things, believeth all things (love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust) hopeth all things (hopes under all circumstances) endureth all things (it gives power to endure all things).
Our walk - our daily living, is a critical witness to an unbelieving world, so it is essential not only to ‘To talk the talk - but to walk the walk!’