Walking like Jesus
A compound word is a word composed out of two or more words. You combine two or more independent words to create a new word. The word, for example, milkman, is composed out of milk and man. The word could be interpreted as a man made out of milk. Of course, it means the man that carries the milk. The fruit called blueberry, is made out of blue and berry. The meaning of course is that it is a bluish fruit.
In English to walk is not a compound word, but it is in the Biblical Greek. The word for walk in the Greek is peripateo. It is a compound word from the words peri and pateo. The word peri means 1) about, concerning, on account of, because of, around, near. The word pateo means to tread; a) to trample, crush with the feet; b) to advance by setting foot upon, tread upon. Put the two words together and you end up with, 1) to walk; a) to make one's way, progress; to make due use of opportunities; b) Hebrew for, to live; 1) to regulate one's life; 2) to conduct one's self; 3) to pass one's life.
Peripateo is the word used by the New Testament writers to talk about walk. This word is used many times to admonish us to tell us how to conduct ourselves or not. We are encouraged to walk by faith, walk in the Spirit, to walk as Jesus walked, to walk in Jesus, etc (2 Corinthians 5:7; Galatians 5:16; Colossians 2:6). We also are encouraged on how not to walk. For example, to walk not like the gentiles walked (Ephesians 4:17). Paul and John give extensive explanations as to what they mean by this walk (Ephesians 4: 20 – 5: 21). In none of these explanations do the apostles use walking in a literal sense. It is not about the kind of motion that Jesus' legs and feet had. It is not about the kind of shoes or sandals Christ wore. It is not even about where He literally went in the land where He lived. Ellen White elaborates on this,
"Many feel that it would be a great privilege to visit the scenes of Christ's life on earth, to walk where He trod, to look upon the lake beside which He loved to teach, and the hills and valleys on which His eyes so often rested. But we need not go to Nazareth, to Capernaum, or to Bethany, in order to walk in the steps of Jesus. We shall find His footprints beside the sickbed, in the hovels of poverty, in the crowded alleys of the great cities, and in every place where there are human hearts in need of consolation.
"We are to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and comfort the suffering and afflicted. We are to minister to the despairing, and to inspire hope in the hopeless.
"The love of Christ, manifested in unselfish ministry, will be more effective in reforming the evildoer than will the sword or the court of justice. These are necessary to strike terror to the lawbreaker, but the loving missionary can do more than this. Often the heart that hardens under reproof will melt under the love of Christ."—Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing, pp. 105, 106
As we can see from Ellen White's quote walking as Jesus walked is about living as Jesus lived. Jesus lived doing His Father's will. He lived doing good deeds to benefit others. Jesus lived praying for others. Jesus lived loving others. Of course the only way we can do this is by dying to self and letting Christ through the Holy Spirit to dwell in you and reign supremely. Only then you walked as He walked.
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Raul Diaz
www.wolfsoath.com
