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“Walk Worthy of God”
Categories: Bulletin Articles, M. W. Bassford
In 1 Thessalonians 2:12, Paul summarizes his exhortation of the Thessalonians with the above four words. To Christians, they should be both deeply inspiring and deeply humbling. God has called us into His kingdom and glory. Now, we are responsible for walking in a way that is worthy of Him.
What sorts of things befit the chosen people of God? Dignity, for one, an awareness of the great price that was paid for us and a resolve to live accordingly. We were nobodies, but Christ redeemed us and made us the heirs of all things. This is not cause for arrogance, but it is a call to recognize our own value, to see the folly of trading away our birthright for the lentil stew of sin. What a shame it is when Christians sell themselves cheaply to the devil! What a waste!
Walking worthy also means walking in peace. When the Wall Street financier steps out of his limo in front of the five-star restaurant, he doesn’t scurry to the back alley to fight over food scraps with the rats and the heroin addicts. Why not? Because he already has so much that such a sordid squabble isn’t worth his time.
So too for us. Our lives are hidden with Christ in God. We have an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and will not pass away. Indeed, everything that is worth having, all of us already have.
Nonetheless, the devil is very good at tricking us into caring about things that aren’t worth our time. Somebody insults us or treats us badly, so we get mad and slash back at them, as though we had not already been seated in the heavenly places with Christ. That’s not walking worthy, and it’s especially not walking worthy on social media, where the smallness of our spirits is displayed for all to see. The sight of an heir of the grace of life fighting to defend their ego makes a brawl in a dumpster seem downright respectable by comparison!
Finally, walking worthy means walking in love. We should not expect people of the world to be very good at this. After all, they can love and serve only from their own resources, and even the greatest human spirit is quickly exhausted.
By contrast, Christians have access to the unsearchable riches of Christ Jesus. We share in the example and the power of His supreme self-sacrifice. Because of His love, we can love like Him.
I have seen brethren dedicate themselves to a quiet, continual, thankless act of service for decades. Day in and day out, there they are, persevering in love. Even as I applaud their faithfulness, I know (and they would say) that the strength that sustains them is not theirs. It is the strength that they have found in Jesus.
The worthy walk is a quiet walk. It does not compete in worldly contests or win worldly prizes. Its practitioners rarely make headlines in life or in death. Nonetheless, the Lord knows who they are, and the day will come when they shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
