We usually don’t look into the genealogies of Scripture to find significant spiritual truth, but every now and then an interesting detail is given about an individual that causes us to sit up and take notice. There is probably none more interesting than the person known as Enoch found in the genealogy of Adam in Genesis 5.
Even though Enoch is not a major character in the Old Testament, most people have a knowledge of him because he is one of two people who did not die, but was raptured up to heaven by God, the other being Elijah. It says very simply of Enoch, “he was not for God took him” (Gen 5:24). That is affirmed also in Hebrews 11:5 saying that Enoch did not see death. While that is an interesting detail in and of itself, the other detail about Enoch is maybe more significant to us. It says very plainly that Enoch ‘walked with God.’ This piques my curiosity more than his rapture. What does it mean to walk with God and how can we apply this in the upcoming new year?
First, walking with God involves closeness. The verse says he walked ‘with’ God. He didn’t walk towards God or walk apart from God, he walked with God. The idea here is that there is a familiarity with God that the believer has. When you hear about God or Jesus, is He a distant figure that you don’t really know? Or is He the one you know well? A Christian who is walking with God is in close fellowship with Him. This can be seen in the spiritual disciplines of the Christian life: mainly praying and Scripture reading. We commune with God through prayer and we hear from God in the Bible. As we regularly engage in those disciplines we are cultivating a closeness with God that helps in our walk.
Second, walking with God involves progress. To walk with God means you are moving from one location to another. It is not ‘standing’ with God or ‘sitting’ with God, it is walking with God. The concept of sanctification in the New Testament is about growth and progress, not perfection. We are being transformed from one level of glory into another level of glory (2 Cor 3:18). That requires a continual progression towards the image of Christ in us. Even when Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, he admitted they were doing some things well, but he exhorted them to ‘excel still more’ (1 Thess 4:1). You can tell you are walking with God if you see spiritual progress over the past weeks, months, or years.
Third, walking with God involves direction. The correct direction. Obviously God knows the destination and therefore the correct heading to get there. Only by walking with God can we know we are on the right track and headed on the right course. When we are not walking with God we are on our own, susceptible to all kinds of routes that are headed to locations we don’t want to go (Eph 4:14). Jesus said the gate is small and the road is narrow that leads to life and there are few who find it (Matt 7:14). We can be sure we are on this narrow road if we are walking with God.
As we enter into a new year and we make certain goals and have certain ambitions, make sure that at the top of your list is walking with God. Do everything you can to make sure your walk with Him is close and that you are progressing in your spiritual life as you walk with Him. You can know for certain that you are headed in the right direction if you are walking with God. Hebrews 11:5 also tells us this about Enoch: he was pleasing to God. A close walk with God is pleasing to Him, yet another reason to make this a priority in the new year.