The Ministry of Empty Walks

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds (Eph 4:17).

There's a classic bit of comedy from the guys at Monty Python's Flying Circus called "The Ministry of Silly Walks."  John Cleese plays a British bureaucrat who oversees the development of all sorts of stupid and ridiculous forms of walking.  Not that our buddy Paul ever watched an episode of Python, but here he discourages us from what could be called "The Ministry of Empty Walks."  "Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds" (v17).  Stop walking around like Gentiles.  Start walking with a purpose.  A holy purpose.

Walk toward Jesus.  Walk like Jesus.

The apostle reminds the folks in Ephesus to stop living and acting like they did before Jesus got ahold of them.  Stop walking like Gentiles.  Hmm.  Walk like a Gentile.  Kinda sounds like a Bangles' tune, doesn't it?  (Yeah, I know.  My love of '80s rock is showing.)  Paul uses the Greek verb peripateo, compound word that means "around" (peri-) "walking" (-pateo).  While it certainly describes someone out walking around or moving about, this term also illustrates how to live life.  Earlier in this letter, Paul reminds his readers how they were once the walking dead before Jesus changed them (Eph 2:1-2).  A little bit later, he encourages them to "walk in a manner" consistent with their call to a new life in Christ (Eph 4:1).  Over in the companion letter of Colossians, he writes that a worthy walk pleases Jesus, bears fruit and deepens our relationship with God (Col 1:10).  And one of Christ's closest friends, John the Apostle, simply says that if we say we follow Jesus then we should walk like Jesus (1Jn 2:6).  Stop this ridiculous Ministry of Empty Walks.

Walk toward Jesus.  Walk like Jesus.

Just who are these Gentiles that we’re to stop walking like?  So glad you asked.  It's the Greek word ethnos.  The term has a couple of different meanings.  Lots of times, it talks about an ethnic group, nationality or a particular people.  It's the largest unit into which you could divide people of the world on the basis of their socio-political community.  But it also can mean either non-Jews or non-believers.  In other words, outsiders.  The cool thing is that Christ came to turn outsiders into insiders.  That's the consistent message of the Old Testament as it predicts what the Messiah will do once He makes the scene (2Sam 22:50; Ps 18:49; 69:9; 117:1; Dt 32:43; Is 11:10).  As a matter of fact, when Paul flips through all of these OT verses as he writes to the Romans, he uses ethnos (Rom 15:10-11).  

Paul is writing to his Ephesian friends, many of whom are non-Jews who have placed their faith in Jesus.  The Gospel has invited "both Jews and Greeks" (Acts 19:10, 17) to become insiders.  Jesus has come to turn outsiders into insiders.  Let's be VERY clear about who these outsiders-turned-insiders are.  They are you and me.  Chances are, you’re not a Jew.  If it wasn’t for what Jesus has done to take from outsider to insider, I would still be stumbling around on the outside looking in.  And once we do come inside Christ's kingdom, we need to stop living and walking around like Gentiles.  We need stop living and walking around like outsiders.  

Walk toward Jesus.  Walk like Jesus.

So what does it look like to walk like a Gentile?  How do we know when we're doing walking that way?  The apostle says that happens when folks are walking "in the futility of their minds" (v17).  "Futility" is the Greek term mataiotes.  It describes vanity, depravity, perversity, nonsense, emptiness, purposeless, something devoid of truth and appropriateness and lacking content.  It’s meaningless.  Empty.  A complete waste of time.  Walking toward anything but Jesus is walking toward sin.  Stop walking toward sin that's certain to tear you apart (Eph 2:2-3).  Not only is that perverse but in the end it's empty.  Outsiders walk without meaning.  Without purpose.  Don't walk empty.  That’s why it’s the Ministry of Empty Walks.

Walk with purpose.  Walk toward Jesus.  

Now that we've placed our trust in who Jesus is and what He's done for us, we're no longer outsiders.  He's brought us inside.  So now it's time to stop walking without any purpose.  It's time to stop walking empty.  We no longer serve the Ministry of Empty Walks.

Walk with purpose.  Walk toward Jesus.