Faith walk. Ephesians 5. (Updated below.)

In this letter to the saints in Ephesus, Paul uses the Greek word, peripateo, seven times, including three times in this chapter alone. The most literal translation of that word is "to walk". On your introduction sheet for the letter, walk is listed as one of the key words. If you're using the NIV or NLT translation, in which verses do you see it in this chapter? Oops, not there. So, what's up?

Many modern translations have chosen to take the imagery of walking Paul uses, and translate the imagery into what was likely Paul's primary meaning - "live a life". There's nothing wrong with that translation, but we do lose something when the imagery of walking disappears.

Take a look at the map of Paul's third missionary journey -- the one in which he spent the most time in Ephesus. He began this journey in Antioch, and must have traveled by foot, a distance that looks like 700-800 miles. Paul knew what it meant to walk.

Once in Ephesus, of course, transportation was also by foot. The street to the right is what remains of the Agora, the commercial marketplace. Paul must have walked this street often, and it is speculated that this is where Demetrius and the other silversmiths started the riot described in Acts 19:23-28. Paul walked these streets and preached the gospel, the Way of Christ.

The metaphor of walking in faith is certainly one we use as Christians. You may hear friends say "my walk", or "the Christian walk". You may use that language yourself. For the original followers of Jesus, when He said "Come, follow Me," they did -- literally, walking with Him and learning from Him. In John, we'll read about a teaching of Jesus' that was so hard for His followers to accept that many left Him. John describes that action as "withdrawing and not walking with Him any longer." Paul uses this word almost 30 times in all his letters. So let's explore this idea of walking just a little more, and think about its significance to us.

The first thought I have about walking is that it's not as integral part of our lives as it was in Jesus' and Paul's day. My guess is that that's the reason the NIV translators chose to translate peripateo into the phrase "live a life" or the single word "live". In the American suburbs, at least, walking isn't usually a primary form of transportation. In fact, it's often a recreational activity for us. And while our own faith walk may be pleasant at times, it would be very misleading to think of it as some kind of fun, optional part of our lives.

A related thought is that these kinds of recreational walks have a start and an end. Not so, with our faith walk. Well, let me clarify that. There is a start and an end, but they're of lifetime duration -- beginning when we answer the call of Jesus to "Come and follow Me", and ending as an earthly activity when we die. A word that describes such an extensive walk is journey. But the word journey carries with it baggage that shades Paul's meaning. But journey is a good word in its own right, and worth thinking about another time.

A third thought that comes to my mind as I think about walking is the degree to which I'm plunged into the environment around me, especially compared to other forms of transportation. The tree a half mile ahead takes a some time to reach, walk past, and then recede into the distance. There is time to experience it fully. Or even to simply have it in my conscious vision while other thoughts might occupy my mind. The tree isn't insubstantial, nor is the time it takes to pass it by.

How does Paul use the word walk in this chapter?

• "... walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma." (v.5:2 NASB)
• "... for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light ..." (v.5:8 NASB)
  
• "Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil." (v.5:15,16 NASB)

Simply put, Paul says the Ephesians (we too) should walk in love, walk in light, and walk in wisdom. Our walk in love has the highest standard -- the love Christ demonstrated by His sacrifice for us. Our walk in light is in contrast with how we formerly walked -- in darkness. And our walk in wisdom requires care and maximizes the time we have available to us.

Go back for a second and look at the two pictures in this post. Paul walked several hundred miles to return to Ephesus, preach the gospel, and build the church up there. What occupied his mind? What conversations took place along the way? Whom did they meet and what words were exchanged? As Paul traveled did he recognize that the steps he took were taken in love, for love, and out of love for the Christ and for others? Did he think about his other walks, perhaps the one to Damascus, when he moved out of the darkness and into the light? Was he careful to take the most direct route to Ephesus? Or did he with intention, take all the time he needed along the way to share the gospel with other travelers, and with residents of the places he passed through?

And every day in Ephesus, as Paul walked to and through the marketplace, how shaped was he by the law of Christ? When he wrote to the Ephesians, did he remember the streets they walked together? Was he asking them to remember how they walked, not just physically, but yes, physically too. Remember the road to the temple of Artemis? Do you remember that you once walked that road as worshipers of a man-made god, children of the darkness? And how everything changed when you entered the light of Christ's love? Continue to walk that way, then. Live your life in love, light, and wisdom.

I don't know if Paul picked the word peripateo, simply because it's the word that conveys one's everyday life in Greek, separated from its original meaning to walk, or if the imagery captured in that particular word had deep significance for Paul. I do know it has significance for me. Walking. My coming and going. Walking with Jesus. In His footsteps as best I can. Close to Him as best I can. Over long distances. To the everyday events and places of life.

Where is your faith walk taking you today?

UPDATE.
D'oh. Context, context, context. It hit me today as I was thinking about walking... where is Paul when he's writing this letter? Under house arrest if we understand it correctly. Chained to a Roman soldier. Walking? What wouldn't he have given for the chance to be walking down the road again?