The Worthy Walk

Colossians 1:10, That you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God (KJV).
When the Apostle Paul wrote these words to the Christians in Colossae he was addressing the need to live out faithfully what the believer knows about his relationship with God. An evangelist told the assembled conference audience, "You're all educated way beyond your level of obedience." We must see to it that our going forth matches with what we claim to know. The truth is that no other endeavor can eclipse the weightiness of our worthy walk.  This is what we are here for. So what does it look like to walk worthy of the Lord?
Pleasing: The Greeks of Paul's time considered it demeaning for a slave to fawn over his master, seeking to fulfil every wish and command.  But it was Paul's teaching that elevated the obedience of a servant from slavish buttering-up of the master to sincere concern for the master's will and purpose. We grow in our knowledge of what pleases the Lord and develop the ability to know instinctively what to do in his behalf without having to be told before we act.
Fruit-bearing: It is no surprise that the worthy walk requires work. But Paul characterized our work as bearing fruit. It was at the last supper that Jesus described himself as the vine and his men as branches. He also told them that if they would abide in him, they would bear fruit. Their part was the abiding; His part was the fruit production. He went on to say that apart from him they could do nothing. This is not a matter of human effort to generate fruit, but of connection to the source from which fruit will naturally burst forth. Though we can't produce lasting fruit on our own, we can't help but bear fruit while abiding in Christ.
Increasing: The metaphor of vines, branches, and fruit bearing also implies another observable aspect of plants: living plants grow. It never ceases to amaze me how the right kind of plant food brings surprising growth in a short period of time. In a very similar way, receiving nourishment from the true vine always results in spiritual growth. It is our growth that is our primary objective. We are to increase in our knowledge of God so that we grow from unstable infancy to stable maturity. The worthy walk has this goal in mind.
With all this in mind, how do we apply ourselves to the daily objective of the worthy walk? The first suggestion is to take a fresh look at all that God has called us to in our connection to Christ (Phil. 3:14). We have a high calling that gives us motivation to live up to what we claim to believe. We must avoid the danger of being educated beyond our level of obedience. Finally, we can certainly ask God to help us abide in Christ every moment of every day. Is your daily walk worthy and pleasing to the Lord who called you and equipped you to serve him and bear fruit in every good work?

This article is a portion of a chapter in my new book Our Spiritual Walk which will be available from Shipmate Press later this month.

"All Ear"

"ALL EAR"

"A missionary translator was endeavoring to find a word for "obedience " in the native language. This was a virtue seldom practiced among the people into whose language he wanted to translate the New Testament. As he returned home from the village one day, he whistled for his dog and it came running at full speed. An old native, seeing this, said admiringly in the native tongue, "Your dog is all ear." Immediately the missionary knew he had his word for obedience.' (-Paul Lee Tan)

The quality of steadfast obedience is a precious and rare commodity these days. Those in the medical profession have complained that, next to the patient who does not pay his bill, the most annoying patient is the one who refuses to follow orders. In a survey taken of doctors, they have estimated that between 16 to 90% of all patients leave half-empty pill bottles, cheat on diets, continue to smoke, or never return for checkups despite careful prescriptions and cautious advice.

The writer of Psalm 119 had this to say about obedience:(vs.1-6) Blessed are they whose way's are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart. They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways . You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. Oh that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands.

This text has some tall orders: "precepts that are to be fully obeyed", "steadfastness in obeying your decrees". Could it be that God really expects that level of obedience from his children? From Old Testament history we discover that Israel made costly mistakes every time they assumed that they could trifle with God's laws.

While we may be human and subject to error, I believe that we often hide behind our humanity as an excuse for callously disregarding God's precepts altogether. Like the wayward patients mentioned above, we presume to know more than the experts we pay to take care of us and advise us on our physical health. Spiritually, we presume to "interpret" God's laws to suit our predispositions, then we wonder why we are put to shame as we consider God's precepts.

When God's laws seem impractical in relation to your life style, the problem does not lie in the laws, but in your attitude towards obeying them. In most cases God's precepts have not been tried and found wanting, they have been found disagreeable to our undisciplined ways and not tried at all.

Like the missionary's dog, we need to learn to come-a-'runnin full tilt when we hear the master's whistle. We are promised to be blessed when we develop a heart to keep the Lord's statutes and seek him with all our heart. May we then seek to develop a STEADFAST OBEDIENCE so we can be "all ear" when the master calls.

(This article from the Castle Hills Christian Church "Communicator" which I wrote, is included in a new Devotional book I am writing and will be out soon.)