Enoch walked with God. Genesis 5:22
Before he was taken, Enoch was commended as one who pleased God. Hebrews 11:5
It’s not a bad way to go down in history, is it? - he “walked with God”.
Could that, I wonder, be engraved one day on your tombstone? (not, I know, that you are likely to have a tombstone; but you know what I mean).
The Bible is quite fond of this way of describing our relationship with God. Adam and Eve, after the disaster of the fall, “heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day” (Genesis 3:8). God, it seems, wanted to be with them, and wanted them to be with him.
Much the same is said of Noah (Genesis 6:9) (though, true, he also later messed things up pretty disastrously). Abraham is described as “God’s friend” (James 2:23), which is really just a different way of saying the same thing. Micah the prophet tells us to “walk humbly with our God” (Micah 6:8) (isn’t that a beautiful expression?). And Paul tells us to “walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25), which, again, means very much the same thing.
If we think of the expression “walking with God” as a parcel, what do we find when we unwrap it? I would suggest five things, though probably you can add to them.
1 Companionship. To walk with someone suggests friendship and conversation. Probably some of the most precious moments in our human relationships have occurred while we have been walking. (A hundred or so years ago people didn’t “date” or “go out together”; they “walked out together”: read the novels of Thomas Hardy.)
In the same way, we should never let anything - not sin or laziness or distractions - jeapordise our minute-by-minute companionship with God. He wants our companionship; he wants us to enjoy him. If only we wanted it as much!
2 Progress. To walk is to move; it is the opposite of being static. Genesis doesn’t say that Enoch sat in an armchair next to God, even though there is certainly a place for quietly resting in his presence. The Christian life is a journey: as the song puts it, “from the old unto the new, keep me travelling along with you.”
Are any of us stagnating a bit? Have we subconsciously decided we have reached our full potential? Have we stopped exploring, growing, learning, developing? Why not aim to see each new day as an adventure in moving on with God? Why not prayerfully explore the possibility of some new venture?
3 Protection. There’s safety in numbers. As Jesus’ story of the man who fell among robbers shows, the lone traveller is especially vulnerable. And even in our modem world - perhaps especially in our modern world - if someone we love is travelling, we feel so much better if we know they are among reliable friends.
The Bible, both Testaments, knows simply nothing of the solitary child of God. And this is why Jesus draws his followers into communities, what we call churches.
Well, if we walk not only with our fellow-Christians but with Almighty God himself, how can we be anything but safe? Of course that doesn’t mean that bad things can’t happen. But ultimately we have perfect security in the hands of our loving heavenly Father.
4 Effort. Even a pleasant stroll involves an element of exertion. And if you go for a ten mile hill-walk, well, you will know you have done it.
In the Christian life the journey is sometimes relatively easy - good health, a positive work-situation, a happy family life. But at other times the going is tough - sickness, disappointments, set-backs, even heartbreaks. That’s when we need to grit our teeth and cling especially tightly to God’s hand. Let no-one imagine that the Christian life is a doddle!
5 A destination. We walk in order to get somewhere, even when we’re walking for leisure. Which makes it all the more satisfying when, after quite a tough time, we can take it easy and put our feet up.
That doesn’t mean that in heaven we are just going to lounge around. But the fact is that we are promised rest when our earthly journey is done: “There remains... a sabbath-rest for the people of God...” (Hebrews 4: 9). And Jesus told his disciples: “I am going to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).
This troubled world in which we now live is not all there is. No; there is something above and beyond us which is infinitely, unimaginably greater, and that’s where we’re heading.
Are you confident of your final, eternal destination?
So... as we think about Enoch walking with God, the message is simple: Christian, keep walking! Keep hand in hand with God! Christian, enjoy your relationship with him!
Dear Father in heaven, please help me to walk with you minute by minute and day by day, until that day comes when I reach my destination and enter my heavenly rest. Amen.
Before he was taken, Enoch was commended as one who pleased God. Hebrews 11:5
It’s not a bad way to go down in history, is it? - he “walked with God”.
Could that, I wonder, be engraved one day on your tombstone? (not, I know, that you are likely to have a tombstone; but you know what I mean).
The Bible is quite fond of this way of describing our relationship with God. Adam and Eve, after the disaster of the fall, “heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day” (Genesis 3:8). God, it seems, wanted to be with them, and wanted them to be with him.
Much the same is said of Noah (Genesis 6:9) (though, true, he also later messed things up pretty disastrously). Abraham is described as “God’s friend” (James 2:23), which is really just a different way of saying the same thing. Micah the prophet tells us to “walk humbly with our God” (Micah 6:8) (isn’t that a beautiful expression?). And Paul tells us to “walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25), which, again, means very much the same thing.
If we think of the expression “walking with God” as a parcel, what do we find when we unwrap it? I would suggest five things, though probably you can add to them.
1 Companionship. To walk with someone suggests friendship and conversation. Probably some of the most precious moments in our human relationships have occurred while we have been walking. (A hundred or so years ago people didn’t “date” or “go out together”; they “walked out together”: read the novels of Thomas Hardy.)
In the same way, we should never let anything - not sin or laziness or distractions - jeapordise our minute-by-minute companionship with God. He wants our companionship; he wants us to enjoy him. If only we wanted it as much!
2 Progress. To walk is to move; it is the opposite of being static. Genesis doesn’t say that Enoch sat in an armchair next to God, even though there is certainly a place for quietly resting in his presence. The Christian life is a journey: as the song puts it, “from the old unto the new, keep me travelling along with you.”
Are any of us stagnating a bit? Have we subconsciously decided we have reached our full potential? Have we stopped exploring, growing, learning, developing? Why not aim to see each new day as an adventure in moving on with God? Why not prayerfully explore the possibility of some new venture?
3 Protection. There’s safety in numbers. As Jesus’ story of the man who fell among robbers shows, the lone traveller is especially vulnerable. And even in our modem world - perhaps especially in our modern world - if someone we love is travelling, we feel so much better if we know they are among reliable friends.
The Bible, both Testaments, knows simply nothing of the solitary child of God. And this is why Jesus draws his followers into communities, what we call churches.
Well, if we walk not only with our fellow-Christians but with Almighty God himself, how can we be anything but safe? Of course that doesn’t mean that bad things can’t happen. But ultimately we have perfect security in the hands of our loving heavenly Father.
4 Effort. Even a pleasant stroll involves an element of exertion. And if you go for a ten mile hill-walk, well, you will know you have done it.
In the Christian life the journey is sometimes relatively easy - good health, a positive work-situation, a happy family life. But at other times the going is tough - sickness, disappointments, set-backs, even heartbreaks. That’s when we need to grit our teeth and cling especially tightly to God’s hand. Let no-one imagine that the Christian life is a doddle!
5 A destination. We walk in order to get somewhere, even when we’re walking for leisure. Which makes it all the more satisfying when, after quite a tough time, we can take it easy and put our feet up.
That doesn’t mean that in heaven we are just going to lounge around. But the fact is that we are promised rest when our earthly journey is done: “There remains... a sabbath-rest for the people of God...” (Hebrews 4: 9). And Jesus told his disciples: “I am going to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).
This troubled world in which we now live is not all there is. No; there is something above and beyond us which is infinitely, unimaginably greater, and that’s where we’re heading.
Are you confident of your final, eternal destination?
So... as we think about Enoch walking with God, the message is simple: Christian, keep walking! Keep hand in hand with God! Christian, enjoy your relationship with him!
Dear Father in heaven, please help me to walk with you minute by minute and day by day, until that day comes when I reach my destination and enter my heavenly rest. Amen.
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