Walking in Him

"Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving." Colossians 2:6-7

"So walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him.."

Let's just dwell on the above verse for a moment. This tiny phrase holds so much weight and meaning. What does "walking in Him" mean for me? As a professing believer in Christ, do I faithfully walk in Him every moment of every day? Certainly not. If someone were to look at the way I live, would they find that this verse is the constant theme of my life? 

To walk rooted and built up in Him requires daily obedience and constant abiding in Him and His Word.

"And he said to all, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.'" -Luke 9:23

During the time Jesus was preaching this, the cross was more a symbol of death than of suffering. He was telling His people to deny themselves and to daily put to death their own desires and dreams to fully surrender to His will. This verse still applies to us today. We are called as His children to regularly and habitually surrender in obedience to Him. We cannot let our own passions and selfish motives drive a rigid wedge in our walk with Him. We must constantly shield our hearts from selfish idols that will keep us from fully surrendering. 

In 1 John 2:6 it states, "By this, we may know that we are in Him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked." We must follow in the footsteps of our Savior. We can never replicate His saving sacrifice, but we can strive in obedience to imitate and mirror His example of love, faith, selflessness, devotion, etc. because, by this way of living, we will know that we are walking in Him.

Let's be real though, truly obeying and surrendering daily to God is tough. We will fail constantly, and as long as we live on this broken and sinful earth, we will struggle to do this. John 15:10-11 says, "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full." Just as Christ, even in opposition, joyfully fulfilled His Father's will as our only hope and true sacrifice, our obedience to our Father should also be done with a joyful and glad heart. 

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me." John 15:4

 As we joyfully walk in obedience, we are also called to truly abide in Him. To "abide" means to daily continue in a personal relationship with Christ defined by prayer, trust, submission, and time in His Word. The Bible is our guide and instruction manual to life. How can we truly "walk rooted and built up in Him" if we aren't daily studying and abiding in the truths of His Word? As Alexa wrote last week, it is so hard to find time and consistency in the Word. If you would like to read her blog about fighting for time with God, check it out here. She writes, "What an utmost honor it is that we have the ability to hear and study the words of the One who is our intensely personal Father and our infinitely powerful Creator!" How true she is as we should never take for granted the opportunity to truly abide in His Word. As we daily strive to read and study more about who He is and what he wants for us, we will be established in His truths and constantly encouraged in our relationship with Him.

As His Beloved and those who have received Christ, may we persevere daily to take up our cross in obedience, surrendering fully to His will. Let us also abide in His marvelous and glorious truths so that the theme of our life is to walk, rooted deep and built up in Him. 

"We must keep to Him, cling to Him, never let Him go, but live and have our being in Him."

-Charles Spurgeon