Walking with Christ

Colossians 2:6-10 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

Paul in Colossians calls us to walk with Christ in the same manner which we received Him. We received Christ by choosing to believe the work that He accomplished on the cross. We received Him through faith and it has nothing to do with our work. Similarly, walking with Christ is choosing to accept the work that He has already accomplished.
Walking with Christ is taking a step of faith in knowing that God has a plan to use us in ways that we cannot foresee nor predict. Both receiving Christ and walking with Him are similar in nature, and yet we are prone to describing walking with Christ more about what we do. Walking with Christ will always be focused on His work not our own.
            I am more and more convinced that this life is not about what we do, but rather, it is about what we believe. I think that the biggest lie we are susceptible to believing is that we have the ability to create significance and meaning to our short and fragile lives on our own.
            The philosophies and empty deceit that Paul references in verse eight are the ideologies that proclaim to hold the meaning and purpose of life. They are the cries to a broken and lost world proclaiming that significance can be found through or in the individual or their community. Perhaps even more dangerous, these ideologies might state that there truly is no purpose in life and that significance can neither be found nor created, therefore live life in any way that brings joy.
            Materialism, consumerism, social activism, nationalism, individualism, and the other plethora of -isms, all aim to bring a semblance of purpose and happiness to individuals. Yet, these are all half-measures and empty deceit. All of these systems fail to bring real salvation and restoration. We are not called to walk alongside this kind of mentality, but instead we are called to bear the mentality of Christ.
We are called to remember that God dwells in us and this remembrance is coupled with a thankful attitude. Walking with Christ is a practice of identifying the work of God rather than focusing on the work of man. Walking with Him is recognizing that human systems and philosophies are not the whole truth, and being thankful that God has given us the truth through His Word.
            Walking with Christ leads to the discovery of the true self. The identity we find in Christ is as children of God, which is the most authentic identify for humanity. It is the identity that had been lost through the sin of Adam and found again through the grace of Christ.