WALK THE TALK



As far as your spiritual life is concerned religious talk is not good enough. The apostle John makes this clear in his little epistle 1 John 2:4-6. If someone claims, “I know God," but doesn't obey God's commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God's word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.

John is not talking about sinless perfection here but rather that a Christ-follower is to relate to others the way Jesus did. In other words we have to walk the walk like Jesus. Walking as Jesus walked begins with loving other people. Christ-followers have tried to make Christianity more difficult than it really is. We’ve make it about church membership, or a particular theological persuasion, or saying the right words during baptism, or what version of the Bible is the only one to be used. The apostle is clear. We know that we know him if we obey him. Obeying him is walking as Jesus walked—loving others.

Verse ten and eleven in this same chapter of 1 John says;  “Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. But anyone who hates another brother or sister is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.”  When you love others, it's easy to find the purpose for your life. Loving others gives you direction. Love brings light into your life, as opposed to hatred, which brings darkness and sinful activity.

When you sin, you're thinking only of you. Sin is the ultimate act of selfishness. Not only does it drive a wedge between you and God, it drives a wedge between you and others. Sin says, "What I want is more important than what you want. What I want is more important than your feelings or your well-being. That's because I'm the center of the universe; you're not." This selfish attitude cannot co-exist with a genuine love for people. Therefore, when you start loving others, selfishness loses its grip in your life, and sin loses its power.

It is important as a Christ-follower  to balance your belief and behavior. He wants you to know where you stand with him. He wants you to be secure in knowing him. In order to know this, you have to know people matter to God more than anything else in the world. If you want to know God in a life-changing way, then you need to learn to love people the way he loves people. What you know is connected to what you do. We know that we have come to know him when we obey him; we obey him by walking as Jesus walked. Walking as Jesus walked begins with loving others.

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