The idea of observing National Walk in the Park Day on March 30 got its start when the American Heart Association established it as a way to encourage getting a little bit healthier.  People are encouraged to get off the couch, go into the great outdoors, and participate in simple and accessible physical activity.  People are encouraged to walk in local parks to explore the wildlife and beauty of the natural world around them.  It is an excellent way to clear the mind from daily stresses, re-energize, and improve personal health.

        “Words from Above” in the Bible tell us that Jesus, the Son of God, walked not in a park, but all over the countryside teaching and preaching about the kingdom of God.  In Acts 10:38, the apostle Luke wrote that God “anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed of the devil, for God was with Him.”  Everywhere Jesus went from day to day, He met people who were not only oppressed with the devil, but also who were lame, who were blind, who were handicapped, who had leprosy, and who were afflicted with various other illnesses.

        During His journeys throughout Judea, Samaria, Galilee, and other locations, Jesus invited people to join Him in His ministry, and once pointed out to them in Luke 9:58 that “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has no place to lay His head.”  Jesus had left His earthly home to travel the surrounding area, never established a home of His own, but stayed in the homes of those who invited Him to do so, or else spent the night in the great outdoors. 

        Jesus led by example as far as physical exercise is concerned, but the Bible speaks about  far more important type of walking.  It is the apostle Paul who wrote in Galatians 5 about what he called “walking in the Spirit” as opposed to what he called “walking in the flesh”.  He said that the Spirit and the flesh, which are the physical appetites, are at war with one another and are contrary to one another.  He goes on to list a number of behaviors that result from walking in the flesh, and then the behaviors that result instead from walking in the Spirit.

        Paul calls the behaviors that result from walking in the spirit “fruit of the Spirit”, and names them as love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.  These are the behaviors that Jesus promoted in those whom He invited to be part of His kingdom.

Larry R. Steffee is pastor of the Center Hill Brethren In Christ Church on Miller Road in Smithville.  Everyone is welcome to attend.  For informa-tion, you may email lrsteffeetn@yahoo.com.