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Walk the Walk
When I moved from New York City to Washington, D.C., I remember one of my coworkers often saying, “Don’t talk about it. Be about it.” It was a catchy saying from his neighborhood. He would also say, “Don’t talk me to death.” Both colloquialisms basically meant that it is easy to talk a good game, but not as easy to do what one says. I have found that to be true in so many areas of life.
Marginally interested young men often promise young ladies the world in an attempt to buy their affection. Sadly, through many disappointments, young ladies realize that the blank-check promises bounce in the bank of commitment. We have seen stories in the news of people fudging résumés in order to get new jobs for which they are under-qualified. They talk a good game in the interview, but can they deliver?
It is interesting that unconverted human nature has not changed over the centuries. Jesus actually dealt with the issue of empty promises 2,000 years ago. He said: “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me” (Matthew 15:8). Jesus taught that commitment to God is not found merely in declaring one’s allegiance. Rather, those who surrender to Him in faith will be accepted.
Let’s go back even further. During the first 3,000 years of earth’s history, people had difficulty with commitment. Yet there was a sterling example of one who would rather die than break communion with God. His name was Enoch. The Bible testimony of his life is that he walked with God. His walk so far exceeded mere lip service that the Bible says he went to heaven never experiencing death (Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5).
How could a man be so holy that he went straight to heaven? The Bible does not provide a lot of detail about Enoch’s life; however, we can learn much about victorious living from what little is written. Here are three examples:
1. He walked with God (Genesis 5:22, 24). To walk with God is to love, reverence, and serve Him (Deuteronomy 10:12). Walking with God is being just, merciful, and humble (Micah 6:8).
2. He pleased God (Hebrews 11:5). There is nothing more pleasing to God than a life full of saving faith (Hebrews 11:6). When we live by faith, we accept the blessing of God’s presence in our lives right now and look forward to experiencing Him in eternity.
3. He spread hope in the second coming of Jesus Christ (Jude 15, 16). Our experience with God deepens when we help people get ready for His return. What could be more fulfilling than helping to deliver people from the dead-end, temporal life of sin?
Victorious living is not found in human effort or by devising some plan. Victory is found in following what Jesus has already planned. When we do this faithfully, we, like Enoch, can walk the walk.
L. DAVID HARRIS, assistant registrar, Columbia Union College in Takoma Park, Maryland, is founder of Each 1 Reach Many Ministries, author of Know Peace Within: A Life in Transition, and the two-volume set Alive at 5: Victory in Retrospect. To find out more, visit www.reachmanyradio.com.
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