The metaphor of “walking” features prominently in the Bible as a way of describing our life with God. It’s also a key theme in Tim Keller’s new book.  Keller gives a great little description of what it means to “walk with God” towards the middle of the book:

Walking is something nondramatic, rhythmic–it consists of steady, repeated actions you can keep up in a sustained way for a long time. God did not tell Abraham in Genesis 17:1 to “somersault before me” or even “run before me” because no one can keep such behavior up day in and day out. There are many people who think of spiritual growth as something like high diving. They say, “I am going to give my life to the Lord! I am going to change all these terrible habits and I am really going to transform! Give me another six months, and I am going to be a new man or new woman!” That is not what a walk is. A walk is day in and day out praying; day in and day out Bible and Psalms reading; day in and day out obeying, talking to Christian friends, and going to corporate worship, committing yourself to and fully participating in the life of a church. It is rhythmic, on and on and on. To walk with God is a metaphor that symbolizes slow and steady progress.

–Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering, pg. 236

So what is walking with God? The slow rhythms of a live built around him. It’s not the flashy, quick-result, 7-day diet fads we’re all about, but the regular, steady patterns of wisdom that develop health. It’s not just the romantic weekend getaway, but the daily chats, kisses, date nights, and time spent in the ordinary that keeps marriages strong. “Walking”, in this sense, consists of the lovely, but ordinary disciplines of grace.

Soli Deo Gloria