By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. Hebrews11:5
Enoch lived for 365 years before he was taken to be with God. What's interesting is that in Genesis we are told that he walked with God for 300 years, which means that he started his walk at 65.
But what happened when he was 65? Genesis tells us that when Enoch was 65 his son, Methuselah, was born!
I know for myself, becoming a Dad gave me all sorts of insights about God. As I wheeled my baby boy to the incubator room (it was a freezing July midnight) I knew that if someone tried to take him from me I would be willing to lay down my life. I also understood how hard it was for God to watch His Son suffer on the cross. I experienced love at a kind of ferocity that is almost indescribable.
The birth of his son awakened Enoch and lit a fire of faith and relationship that was part of his life for the long haul: Watching his son grow up, get married, have children. Experiencing growing old and going through the seasons of life.
It would seem that the intensity of the becoming-a-dad experience put Enoch in a place where an intense intimacy with God became the norm for his life forward.
What a lovely way to describe it: he "walked with God."
Faith is a journey. Recognising that we get to "do" life in the presence of an awesome God. For Enoch the benchmark of that relationship was the awesome moment of becoming a dad.
What are the awesome moments you have experienced in life?
What if these became benchmarks that explained, described and epitomised the relationship and walk that we can have with God?
Then faith is a journey!! May we "walk" well!
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
