Active Theology

The other day, my son ran into the room to find me and said, “Where is God?” 

In my head, I silently laughed, as I thought, “How am I going to explain God’s omnipresence to my 4-year-old?”

“He’s everywhere”, I confidently replied.

My son responded with, “He’s in our house?!”

As if I were answering the simplest question in the world, I said, “Yes”. He looked at me with a mixture of concern and astonishment. 

And that’s when I knew I had dug myself into a hole. His mind was reeling.

But that’s the truth. He is in our house. He is with us when we go to work. He’s with us in our parenting. He’s with us when we’re out to eat on a Friday night. He’s with us as we rest. 

I rejoice that God chooses to be near, and yet it should also cause a bit of reverent awe and fear in our lives. From the beginning of creation and into eternity, humans have had and will have the gift of His presence in one way or another.

The Act of Walking

You may not have given much thought to it being used throughout Scripture, but the word walk is mentioned over 350 times in the Bible. 

Any guesses on when it is first used? 

Genesis 3:8 says, “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.”  (ESV)

The first mention of walking in the Bible does not describe Adam and Eve, but instead it’s God in the Garden of Eden. If God was walking in the garden in Genesis 3, I think we can safely conclude that He was also walking in the Garden throughout Genesis 1 and 2 as well. From the beginning of time, God desired to be present amongst His creation. This is what is portrayed when the Bible talks about God walking.

When Scripture describes God ‘walking,’ it’s not that He uses legs to move; rather, it is His divine presence that is personal and active among His people.

As the story of the Bible unfolds and God’s people are rescued from Egypt, God tells the Israelites, “And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.” (Lev. 26:12, ESV)

I once heard a pastor say that the story of the Bible can be summed up in three words: God with us. And that statement is put into motion when God walks with us. God chooses to be close to His creation. He decides to walk with us. 

During the Christmas season, we celebrate Jesus the Messiah, who came to physically walk with humanity. Emmanuel, God with us. And because of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, the Holy Spirit dwells in us.

And when we pass into eternal life, God never leaves our side. In fact, it only gets better.

We often talk about our walk with God, our rhythms of spiritual disciplines and how we choose to spend time with God.

But let’s not forget that He chooses to walk with us. We have His divine presence in our lives. What a gift! 

So wherever you find yourself today, at home, at work, or in the quiet moments in between, remember this: the God who walked in the garden still walks with us now. 

May His presence bring you comfort, peace, courage, and joy.

Craig is a worship pastor at Wallula Christian Church and the creator of Active Theology. He loves coffee dates with his wife, reading, and riding his bike. A few of his favorite things are third wave coffee, vanilla ice cream, and plain t-shirts.