Walking with God
Scripture Reading — Genesis 5:6-27
Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.
Were you tempted to skip over the strange names in today’s Bible reading? Please don’t! When we read this genealogy, we learn that Enoch was the father of the oldest man in the Bible. More importantly, Enoch is the only one in this list of names who doesn’t follow this pattern: “he lived . . . and then he died.” Instead, the Bible says, “Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” How could this be?
The Bible gives us a clear hint. Twice we are told that Enoch “walked faithfully with God.” The word “walked” here indicates a special relationship between God and Enoch, and—as a result—Enoch did not die. After reading how each generation died, it’s awesome to read of this man, Enoch, who walked with God and then was taken to be with God.
Perhaps today you would like to know how you can walk with God. In Matthew 1 we read that Jesus was the promised Immanuel, which means “God with us.” Jesus bridges the gap between us and God so that we can walk with him not only today but forever, like Enoch. That is why Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die” (John 11:25). There is only one question left to answer: “Do you believe?”
Loving God, thank you for calling us to walk with you today, and thank you for making it possible by faith in Jesus to walk with you forever. Amen.
About the author — John Van Schepen
Dr. John Van Schepen is a retired pastor who served churches in Washington, Wisconsin, Indiana, Oregon and California. He and his wife, Willie, have been blessed with five children and several grandchildren.
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