Do you know where to find the first mention of "walking" in scripture? Most people say that it is the instance of Adam and Eve walking with God in the cool of the day, but that is not it. The first mention of walking found in scripture is Genesis 3:8. "And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden."

In this verse, there is a great deal of wonder to be recognized. Did God present Himself as a physical being in the Garden? Did God become like the wind walking? Did God come and go from Adam and Eve often? How often did they see Him? He talked to them but was it conversational like we talk to our fathers? Was it mostly God talking or mostly Eve? We have a lot of questions.

What I would love to point out about this verse is that Adam and Eve were not walking with God. They were hiding from Him.

I feel like most of my life I have been hiding from God. I hear His footsteps and I recognize His voice but I am always a bit fearful of Him finding me. It is not that I am doing something wrong, but it is that I feel like why would a Holy God possibly want to visit with me. He could not want to take a walk with me, just for enjoyment.

During this Christmas season, my prayer is that you would see that God is not walking alone, but with us, seeking us out, proving to us that He does want to visit with us. In fact, He desires to be with us. He really wants to hear us, see us, touch us, love us.

The God of eternity, not just eternity referring to the future but eternity in the past, made a specific declaration to us. "You are Mine and I am yours. I want to walk with you." That is the reason He came as a baby. God had to be carried from place to place, be supported by other human hands, be directed just like other little kids need direction. We were called upon to supply those needs for God. He wanted so desperately to commune with us that He allowed us to enter into His life and see for ourselves the measure He would take to not only save us from our sin, but to be with us.

Now we don't approach a King of kings in a palace filled with gold and purple things. We don't come to a Lord of lords who only wants to hear Himself speak. We don't accept the Savior of our souls in some mindless state of meditation or transcendence. We simply walk with Him. Understanding that He is Everlasting Father, Savior, Prince of Peace, Almighty God and Friend of sinners.

So, this Christmas, take a walk with Him. "In the beginning, God..." is a great path to start with.

Allison Durham Speer, 2007