What Colossians Says About the Christian Walk: Part 1

"Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, overflowing with gratitude." ~ Colossians 2:6-7

I was tempted to skip over these short verses. Not because of a lack of value and wisdom, but because, quite simply, they're verses that are often overlooked. But as I recited the book of Colossians this morning, these verses really stuck out to me. Why? Because they reveal so much about the Christian walk, a topic I wasn't even planning to touch on. Yet here they were. And here we are. So I've divided the Christian walk into four steps as outlined in these verses.

"Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him ..."

What in the world does it mean to "walk in" Christ? We've figured out in previous posts that we must live in Him, but walk in Him? What is that all about? In Romans 6 and 13, Paul expands on this.

"Therefore we were buried with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in a new way of life." Romans 6:4

This refers to walking "in a new way of life." That is definitely a part of walking in Christ. It means we turn away from our previous life of sin and choose to live a new life in Christ.

"Let us walk with decency, as in the daylight: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy." Romans 13:13

This adds another component to walking in Him - walking "with decency, as in the daylight." But why the daylight? Because we're children of the light: "The night is nearly over, and the daylight is near, so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light." (Romans 13:12) We need to "put on the armor of light," and walk in the light! That is what "walk[ing] in Christ" is - turning aside from our old, sinful lives to walk in the light, a new way of life.

 "... rooted and built up in Him ..." 

I always picture a tree when I hear this. But not just any tree. An oak. Big. Thick. Solid. Immovable. Nothing is going to move this towering strength from its place. It's rooted in the ground, and those roots are stronger than steel. That's what it means to be rooted in Christ. Our entire being is buried and built in Him. Our roots are embedded in Christ. We're not some itty-bitty, tiny, weakling of a tree; we're strong in Him.

We'll cover the last two things Colossians says about the Christian walk in part two. Until then, my friends, let's strive to walk in Christ, rooted and built up in Him.