Who Do You Walk Like?

            One early morning this week, I walked quietly into the house after feeding the cats. I didn’t remove my boots. As I put on the counter the empty carton that held tantalizing scraps craved by our farm cats, I walked softly so as not to disturb my mother who was still resting. With my meticulous care, the boots still made a noticeable, but muffled, rhythmic sound. As I stopped to pull them off, I could hear in my memory that very same cadence produced by my father’s boots.

Dad and I preferred the same style of waterproof knee boots - Wellingtons. He bought the cheapest ones he could find and when they began to show wear, he pulled out the gray, duct tape to repair them. They were usually only replaced at his wife or daughters’ insistence. On the other hand, I like the Muck Boot Company’s Hale boot for women. 

I finally pulled out my birthday gift given by
Mother since the sole of one of my summer
 boots had part of its tread coming undone. I
had glued the tread on twice during the dry 
summer! The first day I wore these new boots
many things went wrong, but I came in 
announcing to Mother, "At least these boots
 were comfortable!"

            As I put up the boots as quietly as possible, I began wondering if even though our boots were so different, was it Dad’s DNA in me that made our morning steps so similar? Maybe it stemmed from Dad’s sensitivity that I had inherited. He never wanted to wake Mother up. Many times, I heard him tell me, “Let her sleep.” He remembered those incalculable mornings that Mother awakened at 5 a.m. to fix a big breakfast and nourishing lunch for him to take to the building site.

As I sat down for my Bible study, I kept thinking about what the Bible says about walking. The Apostle John wrote in I John 2:6 this admonition: The one who claims to abide in God ought to walk just as Jesus walked.

John had written this letter to reiterate God is light, love, and life. John specified our connection with God is realized only through Jesus. The above verse adamantly explains if we “claim” to abide in God, we will walk as Jesus walked. How do we know how Jesus walked? That is known only through reading and studying God’s Word. It is mandatory for us to study the words of Jesus, the heart of Jesus, and His actions toward others. We want to identify those things He loved. Never should we shy away from acknowledging the things He hated. We should be in total agreement with Him. John emphatically states if we are in God, our behavior will mirror Jesus.

So as a believer who should we walk like? John told us to walk like Jesus. I’m reminded of a frequently used quote by our pastor, Mike Brock. He says, “Your life may be the only Bible some people ever read.” If we truly walk like our Lord and Savior, then others may want a relationship with Him, too.