God bless you in the wonderful name of Jesus Christ in whose steps we are to walk (I Peter 2:21).
In Biblical times walking was the most common way of going somewhere, even over long distances. It is not surprising, then, that references to walking in the Bible number over four hundred. A survey of references to the physical act of walking reveals that Jesus is noted as the most frequent pedestrian in the Bible.
In the Old Testament walking is frequently paired with the image of a path to illustrate the lifestyle and choices people should make or avoid. The blessed person “does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly” (Psalms 1:1), and the wise person avoids walking “in the way of evil men” (Proverbs 4:14). Nebuchadnezzar learned that God will humble “those who walk in pride” (Daniel 4:37). Positively, people should walk “humbly with God” (Micah 6:8). In practice this means living in conformity with God’s paths (Isaiah 2:3) or way (Psalms 119:3) or law (Psalms 119:1). To obey God’s law is to “walk about at liberty or in freedom” (Psalms 119:45), and “the man of integrity walks securely or surely” (Proverbs 10:9). Similarly, “those who walk uprightly enter into peace” (Isaiah 57:2). Passages such as these use the metaphor of walking to identify a person’s conduct of life and the results that flow from it.
References to how people walk yield a composite picture of how the godly person lives. The model person walks in all of God’s ways (Deuteronomy 8:6), in the fear of God (Nehemiah 5:9), in God’s truth (Psalms 86:11), and in the light of God’s presence or countenance (Psalms 89:15), in the way of good men (Proverbs 2:20), in the way of righteousness (Proverbs 8:20) and understanding (Proverbs 9:6) and wisdom (Proverbs 28:26). The ideal person is one “who walks uprightly” (Psalms 84:11). Such a person is also known by human companions with whom he or she walks — going “unto the house of God in company” (PsalmS 55:14), and walking with the wise (Proverbs 13:20).
New Testament references to walking build on Old Testament motifs. Walking now becomes a metaphor for how believers are expected to live. John speaks of Jesus as encouraging people to walk in the light rather than in darkness (John 8:12). This expression also occurs in John’s letters. Believers are not to walk in darkness (I John 1:16) but in the light (I John 1:7); they “must walk as Jesus did” (I John 2:6), in the truth (II John 4), in obedience to God’s commands and in love (II John 6).
In Paul’s letters the figurative use of walking is primarily drawn from Paul’s extensive practice of it. In keeping with his tendency toward heightened contrasts, Paul portrays the Christian life in terms of contrasting walks: believers are to walk in newness of life rather than death (Romans 6:4), in good works rather than trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1-2, 10), as children of light instead of darkness (Ephesians 5:8), with moral self-control rather than in sensuality (Romans 13:13), by faith rather than sight (II Corinthians 5:7).
So walking is one of the Bible’s vivid metaphors for how godly people should live, both positively in terms of what to follow and negatively in warnings about what to avoid. Unfortunately, some recent translations tend to replace the concrete vigor of the original with prosaic words like live, conduct, or behave. The result is to diminish a reader’s capacity to allow concrete, everyday activities to illustrate divine realities.
Let’s enjoy the blessing of walking by the spirit and not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Enjoy your day putting on the mind of Christ and walking in his ways.