Our Steps Need to Count for Christ

Scripture

Our verse for today comes from John 19:17, ” And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. “

Background

How many steps will you take today? I have never used a pedometer, the device that counts how many steps you take while wearing it, but I am somewhat curious as to how far I walk in an ordinary day. From my days of moving furniture, I got in the habit of counting and knowing how many steps made up the staircases I regularly encounter. Many times it’s impossible to watch your step as you carry a huge dresser or a sleeper sofa, so you need to know when that last step is coming. From my second floor down to my first is fifteen steps. From my deck down to the driveway is seven steps, then four steps, then three, and then one. I can go out to my car in the pitch black and never touch the railing without any worry of stumbling or missing a step. But I don’t have a clue as to how far I walk between waking up and going to bed. Like seemingly everything else in the world, there is a recommendation concerning the number of steps that a person should take to foster good health. And like most recommendations, there is disagreement over what that actual number should be. But a common amount is 10,000 steps, which roughly equates to five miles. Like I said, I am clueless as to how far I walk in a day, but I am fairly certain that I don’t take 10,000 steps.

Application

The path that Jesus walked to Calvary is sometimes called the Via Dolorosa, meaning The Way of Suffering. It is traditionally measured at around 2,000 feet. That would work out to about 750 steps for you and me. But throw in a sleepless night, a few mock trials, a scourging, a crown of thorns, and carrying part of a cross, and those 750 steps might look and feel and pass very differently. You probably don’t know how far you’ll walk today, unless the unfortunate answer is none. But if you can walk, how far will you walk with and for Jesus? How many of your thousands of steps will be with Him in mind, with the cross of His love on your shoulders?

How many steps will you suffer to any extent whatsoever to proclaim Jesus, who died on Calvary and rose to walk again?

Charge

As we seek Him today, let every step you take be forward. And let your every step be with your eyes focused on Jesus.