Walking to the Promised Land

I need to get walking!  I don't mean lacing up my Sauconys and literally pounding the pavement (although I certainly need to do that type of walking too!).  I'm talking about the kind of walking a Christian should do after being saved by the blood of Jesus Christ.  I started thinking about this as I read Exodus 12, when the Lord instructed Moses concerning what the Israelites needed to do on the night of the Passover.

Pharaoh refused to let God's people leave the land of Egypt.  God had struck the Egyptians with nine plagues, and the time for the tenth, and most devastating plague, was at hand:  the death of the firstborn.  God had a plan to spare the children of Israel from the horror of this plague, but they had to do exactly as He commanded.

There were specific guidelines the children of Israel were to follow as they prepared an unblemished lamb that would be eaten and used to mark the doorposts of their homes on the night of the Passover.  They were to roast the lamb, not boil it, and they were to burn any part that remained uneaten before morning.  The blood of the lamb was to be placed on the doorposts as well as the lintel and would be a sign for the Lord, marking the houses of the Israelites.  When the Lord saw the blood of the lamb, He would pass over the home and the firstborn child living there would be saved from death, as the land of Egypt suffered through the final plague.

When I read this story again, I took special notice of verse 11, which describes God's expectation as the Israelites ate the lamb, "Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste--it is the Lord's Passover." 

The blood of the lamb would save them and after that they would need to get walking!  They were dressed, with shoes on, staves in hand, and ready to immediately start the journey that would lead them to the Promised Land.  There were specific steps they had to take in order to be saved by the blood, but their story did not end there.....they had some serious walking to do!  God saved them from the plague of death, He would save them time and time again while they wandered through the wilderness, and He would save them as they crossed over into the land of Canaan, but they had to obey Him.....and they had to walk.

The same is true for God's children today.  There are many verses in the Bible that describe the kind of walking that Christians should be doing:  walking by the Spirit (Galations 5:16), walking as children of light (Ephesians 5:18), walking by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7), walking in love (Ephesians 5:2), walking in the same manner Christ walked (1 John 2:6), carefully walking as wise men (Ephesians 5:15), walking humbly (Micah 6:8), walking in good works (Ephesians 2:10), walking in the light (1 John 1:7). 

The question I ask myself is, "Am I a 'walking' Christian?"  Now that I've been saved by the blood of the perfect lamb, Jesus Christ, have I found a nice comfortable place to sit and kick up my feet, or have I strapped on my sandals and headed out on a journey that, while characterized by a great deal of walking, will ultimately lead me to the Promised Land!