No Greater Joy
What does the “walk” of your life say to others?
Verse of the Day
‘I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.’
Today’s Devotional
A friend of mine baptized two of his children recently. When he posted about it on social media, he described it as “no greater joy”. Those children have decided to make a public declaration of their faith, which was cause for much joy and celebration.
Does my friend now expect these two children to be perfect? Does he expect that they now have full faith and trust in God that will never waver? Does he expect that they will never fight with their siblings or never disobey him again? Does he assume that every moment of their lives will now be full of the fruit of the Spirit?
I hope not.
Instead, there is no greater joy than these two young people have decided to take an important step in their spiritual journey. There is no assumption of perfection. Hopefully, there is an assumption that there will still be plenty of missteps, but that the overall journey is now on the path of truth.
What does it mean to be walking in truth?
We are all walking in something. Where is your life headed? What is your pursuit? If it is status, or money, or that others think well of you, then that is what you are walking in. One commentary states, “To walk in truth means to walk consistent with the truth you believe. If you believe that you are fallen, then walk wary of your fallenness. If you believe you are a child of God, then walk like a child of heaven. If you believe you are forgiven, then walk like a forgiven person. To walk in truth means to walk in a way that is real and genuine, without any phoniness or concealment.”
If I am walking in truth, then there is an awareness that God is God and I am not. There is an acknowledgment of my need for God. There is a pursuit to live a life of love and service. There is willingness to admit when I get it wrong.
Today is our last day on the theme of Truth. And I long to be a person that brings God no greater joy because I am walking in truth. As we look back over the last few weeks, let’s look at this summary as a road map from Scripture of how to walk in truth.
- Be teachable.
- Have a desire for the Word.
- Be listening for God. Be looking for God. Be reading God’s Word.
- Accept that God’s truth is meant to protect us.
- Be willing to be guided and taught by God.
- Be faithful to God and His teachings, which offers freedom.
- Delight in and celebrate truth.
- Claim that each of us was born through God’s truth.
- Honor Jesus as the Truth.
- Recognize the power of grace and truth together.
- Admit that Jesus shows us the truth and character of God.
- Realize that the Spirit can and will help us to walk in truth. Invite the Spirit to help.
- Learn to follow where the Spirit leads.
- Be honest.
- Be fair in my dealings and opinions of others.
- Practice being a person of truth.
- Turn away from sin.
- Call on God.
- Put on God’s truth each morning like an article of clothing.
- Be willing and ready to talk to others about God’s truth.
- Be gentle with my words and actions.
- Worship God without pretense.
- Tell the truth.
- Speak truth in love.
- Let my life show the truth of God’s love.
- Confess my sins and mistakes to God.
- Be an active part of a community of believers.
That’s how we walk in truth. That’s how we bring God great joy. And we will not always get it right, which is why part of walking in truth includes admitting our mistakes. One thing that stands out to me is that walking in truth is a way of life and not a destination. It’s a way of life that we can walk in no matter where we are or what we are doing.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How has your understanding of truth grown or changed?
Do you know that you bring joy to God? How do you know?
What does the “walk” of your life say to others?
Describe how you know when someone in your life is walking in truth?
Which pieces of the “road map” from Scripture do you need to spend more time working on?
How can you walk in truth today?
How can you become a person who walks in truth every day?