The Vanishing

“By faith Enoch was taken from this life.” Hebrews 11:5

Enoch was a neat guy. The seventh man down the line from Adam didn’t hang around for very long (at least not by the standard of the day), but his few years left a big mark. Here’s what we know. While many men in those days waited until after the century mark to start a family, Enoch got going early. His first kid, Methuselah, was born when he was only sixty-five. Becoming a dad often changes a man, and Enoch may have been no exception, for we’re told that “after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters”(Gen. 5:22). One day when he was 365, Enoch left his house and didn’t come home. The King James Version says it best. “Enoch walked with God, and he was not”(Gen. 5:24). Not what?? Not on earth, “for God took him”(Gen 5:24).

WHAT?!?!? Surely his friends and family wondered the same. Certain he had lost his keys, lost his way, or lost his mind in a mid-life crisis, they sent out a search party, but Enoch “could not be found because God had taken him away, so that he did not experience death”(Heb. 11:5).

Why? Because “before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God”(Heb. 11:5). How did a mortal man please the Almighty God? By believing “that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him”(Heb. 11:6). “Without faith it is impossible to please God,” and, “by faith, Enoch was taken from this life”(Heb. 11:5-6). Why God chose to reward such faith with such a finale will not be known until eternity, but Enoch’s no-death departure is an undeniable reminder that inexplicable events often occur when we believe in an astonishing God. And when we walk closely with Him.

Friends are rarely silent as they stroll. They talk, listen, laugh, share, sympathize, and support. By grace through faith, we are friends with God, and we can talk, listen, laugh, learn, and love as we walk through life with Him. God doesn’t promise us that faith means no funeral (for only two of many have never passed through death’s door), but for those who are His, faith means that we need not fear to turn the knob.

I think the old preacher got the story right:
One day God and Enoch were out for a walk. As the sun began to set, God said, “Enoch, we’re a lot closer to My house than yours. Why don’t you just come on home with Me?”

Unlike Enoch, we don’t have centuries to please God on earth, so delight Him today by walking in faith. You never know what might happen.