![A large group of assorted people on a street corner in front of a department store in a city on a sunny fall day](https://i0.wp.com/pangburnpulpit.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/wait-for-it-1471712-1278x815httpswww.freeimages.comphotowait-for-it-1471712-andrew-martincropped.jpg?resize=1000%2C592&ssl=1)
If you are a Christian, would someone be able to know you by your walk with God? Is your relationship with Him at such a level that others around you would be able to tell the difference between you and others they may encounter? The Bible says, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord…” (2 Corinthians 6:17).
Several men and women in their late twenties stood near a busy street corner in a large city, singling out various people among the crowds, and conversed with them briefly later. One of the men leans over to Steve, the lead person of the group, and speaks into his ear, “What do you think, another one in the military?”
“Oh, definitely, probably with the Marines,” Steve confidently replies. After a minute or so, another man with the group returns and hollers out as he approaches, “He said he started in the Navy but later transferred to the Marines for about a decade.”
“Amazing!” exclaimed several of the others.
“See that woman over there in the green overcoat? She’s an office worker and she had an injury somewhere near her left foot a while ago.”
One of those present asked, incredulously, “Man, how do you do it? I mean, every one of these people you point out have nearly the exact lifestyle you said!”
After hearing this, one of the girls rushes with anticipation over to the woman. Moments later, she comes breathlessly skipping back. “She has been working for an insurance firm for several years and she sprained her ankle a few months back on the stairs of the office building where the company is located!”
One of those present asked, incredulously, “Man, how do you do it? I mean, every one of these people you point out have nearly the exact lifestyle you said!”
“It’s not too hard. I once…” Steve interrupts himself and says “…that man in the black pinstriped pants way over there to the right—he’s been married for many years and has several kids.”
![A black and white photo of a woman walking down a city street symbolizing how one should be known in their walk with God](https://i0.wp.com/pangburnpulpit.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/woman-intersection-molly-porter-K7oqWgDJQ6E-unsplashhttps-unsplash.comphotosgrayscale-photo-of-woman-walking-on-road-K7oqWgDJQ6E.jpg?resize=683%2C1024&ssl=1)
Steve begins again, “You see, I used to work at a place where I was able to interact with all kinds of people. And, as they left the place, I would observe the way that they walked and how they carried themselves. See that young lady in a dark coat by the intersection? She’s a dance instructor. As you might have noticed, it’s become somewhat of a habit to me.”
Our relationship with Jesus Christ is one where even a little bit of sin will harm the bond we have with Him.
Our Life Reflects Our Walk With God
As children of God, when we live a life where we indulge in sin and the cares or pleasures of this world, that is the kind of walk others will see. Our relationship with Jesus Christ is one where even a little bit of sin will harm the bond we have with Him. Our goal is to be brought to the place where everyone will see Jesus in our walk, and not us.
![A photo of a young smiling African-American woman wearing a grey sweater and black pants sitting in a chair against a white wall in front of a small wire-framed, wood-topped table supporting a plant while reading a book and holding a white mug](https://i0.wp.com/pangburnpulpit.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/young-woman-reading-alexandra-fuller-wkgv7i2vtzm-unsplashhttpsunsplash.comphotoswkgv7i2vtzm.jpg?resize=1000%2C667&ssl=1)
We Should Want to Please God
We also read, “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (2 Corinthians 6:20). We can’t surrender our heart to God and still retain possession or control of it, living a life of our own desires. His interests should become our interests. The more we seek Him, the more that we will want to serve and please Him and our walk with God. As we continue to give up the right to our self, we will find that the way we carry ourself in the world will change also. People will see a difference, because they are seeing Him, rather than seeing our old sin-laden self.
Our walk with Jesus is not necessarily in how we lift our legs and move our feet, but in the change He has done inside of us by His Spirit.
Our Walk With God is Spiritual
Steve developed a unique talent for discerning what kind of person someone is by the way they walk or conduct themselves. But the average individual does not need training to spot a person who is a real Christian. Our walk with God is not necessarily in how we lift our legs and move our feet, but in the change He has done inside of us by His Spirit.
Therefore, the more we give Christ the latitude to work in our heart and life, the more those of the world will see His attributes in our walk—rather than seeing us. We should take a moment right now and evaluate our hearts, and then ask ourselves, just how would they know me by my walk?
[Image credits: Featured image (when applicable) by Mircea Iancu from Pixabay; Opening image by Andrew Martin on Freeimages.com; ]