Walking For Longevity!

A few weeks ago, while I was taking my usual walk from the office (a 4.6 miles loop that takes me to the post office, home, and then back to the office), a man I had never met pulled his vehicle to the side of the road, got out, and handed me a copy of a newspaper article from the July 23, 2009 issue of the Seattle Times. He stated he had been keeping it in his car waiting for an opportunity to give it to me. The short article was titled "Study: Faster walkers may live longer." [written by Jeannine Stein of the Los Angeles Times] My fast paced walking around town has connected me with a lot of people in our community whom I may have never met otherwise. It has also encouraged others to begin walking, for which I have been thanked a number of times. This article pointed to the analysis of several studies that had included 34,000 men and women, indicating although walking exercise is beneficial, faster walkers appeared to live longer than slower walkers. The last statement read, "Gait speed was a good predictor of survival across all groups, regardless of gender, ethnicity and health condition."

The pace of the CHRISTIAN WALK may vary from person to person and may not always be the same for ourselves at any given point of our journey with Christ. However, THAT WALK is the most significant one to be making. We may do many things in an attempt to lengthen our lives physically, but it is all for nothing if we have not focused on our SPIRITUAL HEALTH! That has life impact reaching into eternity! Our LONGEVITY IN CHRIST is not based on good physical health, because "though our outward self is wasting away, our INNER SELF IS BEING RENEWED DAY BY DAY." ( 2 Corinthians 4:16 ESV) We need to just keep on keeping on in Christ.

In Paul's letter to the Christians of Galatia we read. . .
"(27) for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. (27) For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (28) There is neither JEW NOR GREEK, there is neither SLAVE NOR FREE, there is neither MALE NOR FEMALE for you are ALL ONE IN CHRIST JESUS." ( Galatians 3:26-28 ESV)

Reading through the Scriptures we may rightfully note the diverse roles within the church unique to male or female, or unique to the particular gifts we each possess. However, Paul made it clear when it comes to the eternal blessings we have in Christ, NEITHER OUR GENDER, ETHNIC BACKGROUND, NOR SOCIAL STATUS makes any difference. Together we have all become "one in Christ Jesus", having put on Christ in baptism. It is the WALKING UNITED IN CHRIST that makes the difference regarding SPIRITUAL LONGEVITY. May our CHRISTIAN WALK encourage others to join in with us as well.

Have a great day SET FOR LIVING LONG IN THE LORD!
Carl

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