Mensa Otabil - Walking As Jesus Walked (10/08/2025)
First John, Chapter 2, Verses 5 and 6. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this, we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. John is speaking very strongly to the church; he is not making it easy for us at all. He is not telling us we can live the Christian life any way we want, do whatever we please, and still be a Christian. He is giving us what Jesus taught, and he tells us that when we keep His word, when we obey God’s word, then the love of God is perfected in us.
What does that mean? It means that God’s love matures in us. One of the most important marks of obeying God’s word is that we begin to walk in love, or act in love. We do things that are loving, things that are good, things that are gracious. We treat people well; we even treat those who don’t like us-our enemies-well. Remember, Jesus said that would be the mark of His disciples. John says when we obey Him, that is what we begin to see: we walk in love, we act rightly; we do the right thing. Then he tells us another way that we show we are Christians, apart from obeying His word and seeing His love manifested in us, is that we walk as Christ walked.
What does it mean to walk like Jesus Christ? Of course, we were not there; I didn’t see Jesus walking, so I don’t know His walking style or gait. That’s not what John is talking about. Neither does it mean that when we must walk as Christ walked, we should also go and choose twelve disciples, or be crucified on a cross and die. He is not talking about miracles of Jesus either. That does not mean we cannot do the works of Jesus; we can-He told us we should-but that’s not what he’s discussing here. He has a different idea in mind when he says to walk as Jesus walked. It’s not about doing; it’s about walking as Jesus walked.
So, it’s important to understand the context. What does it mean to walk as Jesus walked? It means that we must imitate Jesus in several ways, and there are two vital ways throughout First John that John talks about that we must imitate Jesus. First, in complete obedience to God. Jesus walked in complete obedience to God. «The Father says it; that’s what I do. I see my Father do it; that’s what I do.» In the end, in Gethsemane, He says, «Not my will, but Yours be done,» showcasing total surrender to the will of the Father. That is the first thing He wants us to do: to totally surrender our lives to the Father and totally obey Him in every aspect of our lives.
Now, that’s a very tough expectation because our lives are not that easy to live. If we want to obey God, it will make our lives a little challenging. But that’s what the Holy Spirit is there for: to help us progressively live our lives the way Jesus lived His life, in total obedience to God in every area, not just in one area while neglecting another. I am not perfect, and I don’t think you are perfect either, but that is our aim. We want to walk as Jesus walked.
The second way is loving and serving people. That’s how Jesus walked. He loved people; He didn’t condemn them. He went out to people and had a heart of love and compassion for them, even for those who were nailing Him to the cross. He said, «Father, forgive them; they don’t know what they are doing.» To the thief on the cross, He said, «You will be with Me in paradise» when he repented.
So, you see the love of Jesus even in the most painful season of His life. What oozes out of Him is love. I mean, Jesus could have hung on the cross and rained curses and insults on those who were cursing and crucifying Him, even cursing them to generations unborn. But love is what comes out of Him. They are hurting Him, and the only thing that comes out is love. So, John says, walk as Christ walked. In what ways? In total obedience to God and in loving and serving people. If we commit to that, the whole world will know that we are disciples of Jesus Christ, because that is how He lived His life and made the love of Christ manifest in our lives.
Let’s pray. Say with me: Heavenly Father, help me to live my life as Christ lived. Use me to demonstrate Your love to the world. In Jesus' name, amen and amen. Well, I’ll catch you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.