“That you may walk worthily of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.”

The Christian walking with God through life is an ongoing and interactive activity. It is not just something that the Holy Spirit does in us, but we grow as we obey Him and learn from Him. We put a guard on all our behaviour and speaking. We watch ourselves and keep short accounts with God. We engage with the Word of God  and prayer. This was the desire of Paul as he wrote this letter to the Christians at Colosse. 

Paul asks them to walk worthy of the Lord, that means to live godly and holy lives that reflect the goodness and perfections of the Lord. He tells them they should live to please the Lord in all areas of their lives and so should we. No area is out of bounds to the Lord, but all is brought into subjection to Him and His commandments. As we learn from the Holy Spirit we conform all our ways to His ways and obey Him. We become more like the Lord our God and make progress in holiness. This is the purpose of the Christian life. 

“Acquaint yourself with him, now, and be at peace. By it, good will come to you.”

Job 22:21

As we follow the Lord, we will meet all that is good for us and it will do us earthly and eternal good. We have good in our lives because the Lord is merciful to us and encourages us in all our desires to follow Him. We should be bearing fruit in every good work and prospering in all areas of our mind and soul. Our knowledge of God will increase as we walk with Him and obey Him as he directs our footsteps each and every day. As we put to death the desires of our fleshly lives, we will progress to increasingly spiritual understanding and obedience to the Lord. If we pander to our flesh it hurts our spiritual life and we find ourselves floundering in the murky waters of temptation and selfishness. 

Beloved, do not let the sinful flesh separate you from knowing the Lord better and drawing closer to Him. Do the things that cause us to bear fruit and walk with the Lord in our daily lives. Keep up our spiritual duties and fight the sin that so easily entangles us. 

“Therefore let us also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Hebrews 12:1-2