Apples of Gold
Radio Script for April 24, 2008
“Being Right With God vs. Walking With God”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
I don’t want to just be “right” with God.
I want to walk with God.
I see being right with God as a kind of legal standing. Though my sins were as scarlet, they have been made white as snow.* I had a debt, but it was paid. I am right with God.
Our sin stood between us, but through Christ that sin is washed away. So here is how I look at it. Being right with God clears the way for me to walk with God.
What does it mean to walk with God?
I compare it to walking with my wife. For over 20 years we have walked together. Not literal walking; it’s a figure of speech for sharing our lives. We make our decisions together. We share our money. We share responsibilities. We are in constant communication.
Now let me sum all that up into one word: communion. As my wife and I walk together through this life, we have communion.
Now compare that to just being “right” with my wife. To be right with my wife means I don’t cheat on her, I don’t steal from her, I don’t do her any harm or damage. Now take it up a notch. It can mean I’m a good provider and a good father to our children and set a good, moral example. I even remember her birthday.
In all these ways I can be “right” with my wife. But do you see how that is not the same as walking with my wife? The difference is the communion.
I think communion has two parts: communication, and going through things together.
See, my wife and I can go through things together, but it’s not full communion unless we communicate.
On the other hand, two people can communicate a lot, but it’s not full communion unless they go through things together.
So to me, full communion means a lot of communication, and going through things together.
And that is exactly what I want with the Lord – full communion. I want us to communicate a lot, and I want us to go through everything together.
As we raised our children, we had full communion with them. There was plenty of communication, and we went through things together. But as each of them hit their teen years, they started cutting back on the communication. I remember asking my son questions and he would say, “That’s my stuff, Dad.” In other words, they were things he didn’t want to talk to his dad about.
Now get this. We do the same with God. Yes, we may be “right” with Him, but are we walking with Him? Do we hold back communication? Do we leave Him out of decisions? If so, it’s our way of saying, “That’s my stuff, God.”
But you know what? For me, that’s no good. I need full communion with the Lord. That means open communication all day long, and it means we go through everything together.
Second Corinthians 13:14 talks about the “communion of the Holy Ghost.” That’s the King James. The NIV says, “…the fellowship of the Holy Spirit...” Or check out what The Message says, “…the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit…”
That is full communion with God, and that is what I want.
Now what about you? Which best describes your life?
Are you satisfied just being right with God, or do you want the full communion of walking with God?
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
* Isaiah 1:18
© 2008 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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