Walking is pretty essential for most people. It’s an easy way to get from Point A to Point B.
It’s also good for us. If we sit too long, modern medicine tells us we can develop blood clots in our legs. Airline flights? Stand and walk the aisles. Binge TV watching? Every hour we need to stand and stretch, maybe take a walk around the house.
We need to keep the blood flowing so we don’t become unable to walk when we want to.
Yet, not everyone can do it easily. Some of us are physically incapable of walking. Others just need a prick in our soles to get us back on our feet.
2 Corinthians 12:7 tells us of Paul’s walking shoes. His came with a prickly innersole that forced him along the right path, keeping him in a parallel relationship with God the Father and Christ the Son.
“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.”
Paul could have cast his walking shoes aside, claimed his right to binge TV, and claimed all the glory of Christ’s revelation for himself. He would have been pretty close to the money, for his words are still revered even today.
If he’d done so, today’s message brought by one of the greatest of the Biblical writers would have been tainted. We wouldn’t have the example of faith in Christ that Paul has given us in his letters to the church.
It’s our walking shoes that help us carry the message of Christ to the world around us. It’s the prickly points we place our feet on each time we take a step that reminds us who’s the real strength in our life.
We progress toward the perfection of God because of Christ. It’s not in ourselves that we achieve any measure of honor in Jesus. Maybe our walking shoes are crusty coworkers, flimsy finances, or even health issues we can barely tolerate. Do we really want to be couch potatoes, or do we want to run with Jesus in a magnificent marathon leading to the glorious gates of Heaven?
It all starts with our walking shoes. Let’s slip them on and take that first step toward God.
Running with God means we are running toward God.
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Code: FGO.H.09.15b.vp.esv