Walk with God
“Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” (Genesis 5:24).
Genesis 5 summarizes the line of Adam down to Noah. It contains nine names prior to Noah and one name in particular stands out. That’s Enoch, the seventh generation from Adam. Enoch is the only one listed in this genealogy for whom it doesn’t say, “and then he died.” Enoch is one of only two humans in the history of the planet to not taste death. Why not? Because “he walked with God” and God decided to just take him to heaven without him having to experience death.
Walking with God is a powerful metaphor. It indicates a life of right living; a life that pleases God. And that’s no trivial thing in a world infested with sin. Enoch lived a righteous life in an increasingly depraved world. Genesis 6:5 says, The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.
Amidst this evil Enoch chose to walk with God. Amos 3:3 asks rhetorically, “Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?” Two walking together means three things are in agreement: Path, Pace, and Place. More than that though, it means a shared experience along the way. Fellowship and relationship are natural by-products of shared experience. That’s what Enoch had with God.
But wait; there’s more. When two walk together the lesser tends to take on the character and ways of the greater. It’s more than growing in relationship through shared experience. Walking with God inhibits sin and increases righteousness. It helps you know the mind and ways of God.
If you choose to faithfully walk with God, you can, like Enoch, live a life pleasing to Him despite a world of depravity around you. And you’ll be ready and eagerly waiting for the Lord’s return.
Are you walking with God?
Having begun as a guest speaker in 2005, Dan was appointed Interim Pastor in 2008 and has been serving Maple Root Baptist ever since. As a small group leader and Chaplin for the Connecticut Tigers, Dan has a heart for the lost and the God that saves them.