Walking with God - a discussion

(1)    What does it mean to walk with God???

When I think about walking with God, I get this picture of being with God, almost arm in arm, as I wrestle my way through the day.

I also get the picture of the first disciples walking with Jesus for three years while he performed his ministry.

In an article entitled The Secret of Walking with God, Bob Sorge suggested that God not only wanted to have an intimate relationship with us, but also have us as a walking partner. This offers a picture of two people walking together, say around a lake or along the beach, except one of these is actually God.

(2)    Just like walking regularly with another person, walking with God would involve companionship, dialogue, mutual delight, joint decision-making, shared dominion (or responsibility), a growing closeness or intimacy i.e. a knowledge of one another and a deepening friendship.

This notion reflects well that we have been created in God’s image and given earthly responsibility for what God has created, a responsibility that we best fulfil in response to God’s nearness (Genesis 1:26-28). Sorge writes, “God longs to walk with you, which is why his arms of grace have been pulling you into a closer walk with him”. The goal of our walking is “unbroken communion with our Lord and friend”.

(3)    Walking with God in the Bible seems to be connected to the notion of ‘blamelessness’. For example, Noah (Genesis 6:9): Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God. This ‘blamelessness’ stood in stark contrast to the corruption that existed in the world – Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw that the earth was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon the earth (Gen.6:11-12). Noah goes on to be completely faithful to the task given to him by God despite the jeers of the community around him. Another example of the connection between walking with God and ‘blamelessness’ is in Genesis 17:1 concerning Abraham (or Abram as he originally was): When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.

(4)    What does it mean to be blameless???

It can’t mean faultless or perfect, for who but Jesus can claim this! So, maybe … deemed innocent, forgiven, repentant (having a new/changed mind); or, pure in motivation, good character. According to Larry Richards, in the Old Testament, “blameless” means … responding to God wholeheartedly, and honestly seeking to please God.

There might be a chicken and egg type argument here … what comes first – walking with God or being blameless? Certainly we can’t be blameless without first walking with God, for we would soon lose our ‘blamelessness’. But equally without the desire and commitment to be blameless, without us pursuing this as a decent priority – we could hardly claim to walk with God. So, it seems, the two are indivisible!

(5)    Before either Noah or Abraham, Enoch was the first person in the Bible to walk with God (Genesis 5:21-24):

When Enoch had lived sixty-five years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 Enoch walked with God after the birth of Methuselah three hundred years, and had other sons and daughters. 23 Thus all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty-five years. 24 Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him.

Now isn’t that an interesting phrase – “God took him”. Whatever it means in terms of the physical realm, it certainly suggests a seamless transition from earth to heaven. This is as if Enoch walked so closely with God on earth that it was the same as if he’d already been in heaven! Wow! Although this is an ideal worth contemplating, we shouldn’t be daunted by this (as if we mortals can never really walk with God at all). This was simply a unique expression to make the point about how much God desires us to walk with Him, and that indeed it is possible. God actually values highly such a walking relationship!

(6)    Now we turn to the other end of the Bible, to Revelation 3:4-5, to see another Enoch type description:

"And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: "I know your works; you have a name of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God. 3 Remember then what you received and heard; obey it, and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. 4 Yet you have still a few persons in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes; they will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 If you conquer, you will be clothed like them in white robes, and I will not blot your name out of the book of life; I will confess your name before my Father and before his angels. 6 Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.

The church in Sardis was known for good works, yet there was still something deeply wrong. This must have been the quality of their relationship with God and their inner motivations. It is possible to being doing good works while still struggling to live in the right way (refer verse 3) – a way that is harmonious with God and the truth about God. The latter part of verse 3 is what happens when we are not in harmony with God – we miss what we should have noticed! Yet there was for the church in Sardis living examples of true walking with God (verse 4). One commentary suggests that the reference to those in “white robes” represents those who are properly and faithfully carrying out priestly roles of service. Similarly to Enoch, there is an easy movement here into the eternal space.

So, God wants to walk with us before he works through us! So if we want to create a credible public witness or to serve others with effectiveness, then we need to develop an intimate private walking partnership with God.

(7)    What do you think happens as we walk with God???

·         We receive training regarding what God wants us to be like and what pleases God.

·         We increase in knowledge and wisdom, such that we are more likely to speak and act aright.

·         Some of the mysteries of the Scriptures, or some of the areas in which we have experienced doubt, or some of the areas in which we have found it difficult to trust – these all start to find some resolution.

·         We become able to love the unlovely, live in peace despite the turmoil around us, and express joy and thanksgiving (as the wonder of God overwhelms all other problems).

·         The light of God starts to transfer to us!

(8)    Then we begin to be able to say with the psalmist, that despite at times experiencing the darkest valleys, we will no longer fear:

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil (Psalm 23:4a). Why can this be the case?? Because we are walking with God, and God is walking with us – even, maybe especially, through the dark valleys. For you are with me; your rod and your staff – they comfort me (Ps 23:4b-c).

Pre-Easter Reflection on Mark 10:46-52

This is the last healing miracle Jesus did in his earthly ministry (as recorded by Mark’s Gospel). It occurred on Jesus’ way to Jerusalem, just prior to what has become known as Palm Sunday. This miracle happened in the face of the growing opposition to Jesus from the religious elite. So evil is mounting in the form of the direct plot to eliminate Jesus, yet, through this healing miracle, the Kingdom of God is still being announced as near. For, as we have seen, miracles are primarily signs of the nearness of the Kingdom of God. They alerted people then, and they also remind us now, that Jesus is God incarnate, and the focal point of humanity’s search for salvation. This will soon culminate in the greatest miracle of all – the resurrection of Jesus (bringing forth new life for us all).

The blind man Bartimaeus, who had been left to beg in an attempt to fill his belly and keep alive, must have heard good things about Jesus. And he was also ready to put his trust in Jesus, for he referred to him as “Jesus, Son of David”, thus recognising his Messianic claims. It was “mercy” that Bartimaeus sought, for this was clearly what was most neglected in his case. How many times, one wonders, was this man denied mercy? When people tried to shout Bartimaeus down and push him aside, his fledgling faith was such that he shouted out even more boldly.

Now let’s pause to consider the first part of verse 48 … “Many sternly ordered him to be quiet”. Why would these people do such a thing? Surely here was a person in need who should be easily and naturally deferred to! Could these people have been so callous as to have preferred their own agenda and wanted Jesus all for themselves? After all, didn’t Jesus highest priority lie with them, the respectable people? Was this part of a subtle (or perhaps not too subtle) campaign to inveigle Jesus back to the commonplace and middle-class! Were these attempts to sanitise Jesus and take the sting out of his tail! Sometimes we hear a lot more about the conquering Jesus, than the Jesus who spent most of his time with sinners and the needy (as well as his fallible and doubting followers).

Is this in any way similar to modern attempts to keep people in their place? Long and embarrassing and soul-destroying queues at Centrelink offices all round Australia tend to keep the poor in their place! You could probably think of other examples. Is there here a problem with status reversal? Even if the poor blind beggar Bartimaeus has to be seen, he certainly shouldn’t be heard. If we can just keep the cameras and the journalists out of the detention centres, then we might just be able to sleep at night; not to mention keep national wealth intact. Yet of course Jesus believed in reversals – complete reversals: Mark had recorded Jesus’ famous words just a few verses earlier – “The last shall be first and the first shall be last” (10:31).

Then to look at this troubling verse 48 another way, could there be even more subtle ways of keeping seeking people away from Jesus? Is the behaviour of some Christians a big turn-off! I know someone who attends church regularly, but is very bitter and twisted and antagonistic toward certain people he knows. How does that stack up for the good news of Jesus? Jesus himself refuted those who were judgemental, hypocritical, uncaring or unforgiving. Often those who might be regarded as ‘non-Christians’ show a lot more grace and kindness than those who could be more expected to do so (because of their stated relationship with Jesus or God).

How would we react to this sudden interruption of the blind man Bartimaeus wanting to push past us and spend time with Jesus? Well, we know how Jesus reacted, and this certainly gives us a lesson. Jesus stopped what he was doing (he “stood still”), and asked others (perhaps the very ones who were getting in the way) to usher Bartimaeus over to him. Now, we do sense some belated human concern in the phrase, “Take heart; get up, [Jesus] is calling you”. Were such people now shamed into such an attitude? Will Jesus’ innate goodness become part of who we are?

Now, Jesus wanted to get to the depth of what was troubling Bartimaeus. This man was a poor beggar because he had lost his sight, and in the society of the time, such people tended to be left to their own devices. So to provide a clear sign that the Kingdom of God was near, Jesus restored this man’s sight. In this case of Bartimaeus, this act was going to turn him from a seeker to a follower – this not only met his most pressing need, but also confirmed Jesus to be who Bartimaeus had thought him to be.

Note also a particular expression of faith by Bartimaeus … he, in trying to make his way to Jesus, threw off his cloak. The context would suggest that this was not only a cloak to protect him from the elements, but also the cloak that he placed on the ground as part of his begging. In approaching Jesus, Bartimaeus knew that this cloak would not be needed for this purpose any longer. Bartimaeus would now have the sight, given the cultural context, to better pursue a living, but also the light, to better pursue a life. Because of faith, Bartimaeus not only experienced physical healing, but salvation also (being “made well”). It is fair to say, that each of us, if we are truly going to follow Jesus in true discipleship, need a Divine miracle in our lives.

We ourselves may not be able to offer remarkable gifts of healing like this to others, although we may; but the point is bringing into other people’s lives the best of what Jesus has to offer. This certainly means never pushing them aside. But it also means gaining some understanding of what people need and working on providing that. As we address the presenting needs of people, they can enter that space where growing faith leads to an experience of salvation through Jesus. And this could spread! Telling of the same incident, Luke concludes, “Immediately [Bartimaeus] regained his sight and followed [Jesus], glorifying God; and all the people, when they saw it, praised God” (Luke 18:43).

As we approach Easter once again, let us sense the Divine miracles that have happened in our lives. Let us reflect on those moments where Jesus has touched our lives at our very point of need. Even if these experiences have been quiet and subtle rather than extraordinary and dramatic, we all, each and every one of us, have the knowledge that Jesus went to the cross so that we would be able to have a thoroughly satisfying relationship with God. Amen!