Walking as He Walked
By Elin Henderson
“He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.”
I John 2:6 (NKJV)
Have you ever seen little children with the same gait and walk as their parent? I have, many times, and get a real kick out of it! Is it just genetic? Are they purposefully copying their parents? I don’t think so. I believe it is something that is learned and happens over time as they walk hand-in-hand together. I saw this example most clearly with some friends. They had adopted their son at one month old, and I remember watching his dad and him walking down the sidewalk one day when the little fellow was about two years old, and sure enough, he was walking just like his dad! The same gait and shoulder arrangement. It was quite cute to watch.By Elin Henderson
“He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.”
I John 2:6 (NKJV)
We are called to “walk as He (Jesus) walked” and some interpret that as merely imitating Him. I think it is more than that. When we walk hand-in-hand with our Savior, mile after mile, through the good and the bad, we start adjusting our gait to His, positioning our shoulders to His. Before we know it, we are walking as He walks. It isn’t imitation, but rather a transformation that takes place.
As 1 John tells us, this walk comes out of “abiding” in Him, our spirit in fellowship with His. He is our example, but He is also our life. So much so that Christ’s example to us wasn’t just a list of tasks that He did—healed the sick, fed the hungry, comforted the brokenhearted—but rather, His abiding constantly in the Spirit and being available to Him 24/7. “Thy will be done” is how Christ lived. If we want to walk as He walked, we must start there!
Just as we can, at times, identify children’s parents by how they walk, our Father should be obvious by how we walk. Jesus was marked by His walk because it reminded the people around Him of His heavenly Father. People should be able to look at us and say, “You know, she is different then the rest of us, her gait and walk is something new to watch…it reminds me of Jesus, it reminds me of our Heavenly Father!”
GOING DEEPER:
1. In what areas of your life are you walking a lot like Jesus? In what areas do you need to allow Him to transform your walk? Surrender those things to Him now.
FURTHER READING:
John 15:5
Oakwood’s missionaries Elin Henderson and her husband Phil serve as church planters with New Tribes in Mozambique, Africa. Elin is mother to nine-year-old Callie and six-year-old Elias.
