A Spectacular Life

"Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him." Genesis 5:24

Genesis 5 is the genealogy of Adam to Noah. There are 10 families mentioned in this chapter. I have to admit that when I come across a genealogy in my devotional reading, my initial reaction is to just skip over it. But in wanting to stay the course, I carefully read through each name and the Holy Spirit revealed something special to me in Genesis 5:24. Enoch is one of two men in the Bible who never experienced death and was taken up by the Lord. This verse is pretty much all that we know about Enoch. What was it about Enoch's life that was so special?

Well, the only thing that we know about Enoch from twelve words is that he "walked with God." At first glance, there’s nothing spectacular about this epitaph. Let’s consider this imagery of “walking with God” a little more deeply. I picture a person who is faithful and maintains a deep, intimate fellowship with God. I imagine a person that longs to be with God. I think of a person who sees his relationship with God to be the number one priority in his life. After drawing all these mental pictures, in my own spiritual shallowness I think to myself, "Is that it?" He must have done something extraordinary to earn the privilege of completely avoiding death.

And again, the Holy Spirit convicts me about the ways in which I evaluate this life. I guess that it’s natural to want to do something on a grand scale for God. This follows the mentality that surely, God would be most pleased in me if I worked harder, worked longer or worked better. But this verse, reminded me that God is most pleased when I am in deep, intimate fellowship with Him. God is most pleased when I am most pleased in Him.

This privilege of walking with God was not only made available for Enoch. We are all able to walk with God, know His heart and enjoy intimacy with Him. Is it possible that the greatest thing that I can do in my life is to walk with God? That was Enoch’s greatest life achievement and he was blessed with a direct ascent to the Heavenly Father!