"And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him." Genesis 5:24, NKJV

This summer, we walked a lot.  At least that's what my phone told me.  After our family's two-week trip to Italy during which we relied mostly upon our own feet to get around, my phone's fitness app notified me that I had quadrupled my daily average of movement in that timeframe!  If I showed you my maps app, I could tell you all the places we walked to give you an idea of not just how far we traversed but the kinds of adventures we experienced along the way.  Ah, but then I'd want to open my photos app to show you not just how much I walked, or where I walked, but WITH WHOM I walked all those steps.  And those would be the best stories -- not just how much we did or where we went, but the people we experienced them with, the relationships that deepened all along the way.  That's the kind of emphasis I detect when I read the brief description of Enoch that centers around walking -- not the specific motion of putting one foot in front of another, but as a metaphor for the consistent mode of Enoch's life.  So when we read that "Enoch walked with God" (Gen. 5:24), the Bible is telling us a story not of Enoch's activity per se but of his relationship with God that completely defined his life.

The question is:  what does that kind of life-defining relationship look like and feel like?  How can I relate to God with such closeness that my heart is more at home with God than it is in this world!  I'm sure there are many ways to answer that question, but allow me to share the most immediate ways that come to mind especially in light of the fact that Enoch's walking with God seems to have been directly inspired by his becoming a father (cf. Gen. 5:22).  In other words, the experience of the parent-child relationship somehow opened up Enoch's capacity to relate to God in new, deeper ways.  So what are these childlike dynamics of a close relationship with God that Enoch experienced back then and that we can experience today?

PROXIMITY & CONFORMITY

If "walking" is a Hebrew metaphor for one's general mode of living, the first thing we ought to understand is that Enoch chose to do life with God and not apart from Him.  Enoch didn't compartmentalize his life in a way that marked off certain areas as though they were off-limits to the presence and influence of the Lord. Instead, Enoch navigated every life circumstance with God, not apart from God.  Every decision was made in consultation with the Lord and not on his own.  

Enoch chose to live His life in proximity to God, constantly in reference to His presence and influence.

Like the young toddler who doesn't want to enter a dark room or go upstairs unless he's accompanied by his parent, we can choose a default mode of leaning on the presence of God to remain with us wherever life may take us.  Along with this dynamic of constant proximity with God is the corollary choice to live in conformity to God's will.  Like a child who seeks to emulate her mother's mannerism and habits, Enoch wanted to walk in alignment with the directions and values that the Lord had established/purposed.  In this sense, the fact that Enoch walked with God is descriptive of the harmony and personal resonance he experienced with God, his willingness to agree with God (cf. Amos 3:3) and walk in step with Him all along life's journey.

TRUST & HUMILITY

This kind of alignment of values and character doesn't come from a robotic acquiescence of will and individuality.  It's not mechanical or dry formality.  Walking with God involves a closeness and intimacy that can only thrive on a childlike trust (cf. 2 Cor. 5:7) and willful humility (cf. Micah 6:8). Walking with God requires a deliberate choice to trust that God's way is best along and that choice often goes hand-in-hand with a willingness to lay self aside because we've decided that God will is more important than my own.  We do this humbly, not just from having given up on trying to fulfill our selfish ambitions, but from having allowed our vision of God's beauty and the loveliness of His character take utmost priority and pleasure in our lives.

PLEASING GOD

Lastly, walking with God is ultimately an expression of our desire to please God.  The apostle Paul couples the idea of how we walk with how we please God in 1 Thes. 4:1, which tells me that walking with God is not just a matter of practical convenience (it's a better life) or ethical excellence (it's a moral life).  Instead, walking with God comes from a deep desire to bring pleasure to the heart of God (it's a loving life).  Every now and then, my day will be brightened by my 4-year-old who will without any prompting or apparent reason say "I love you" or walk up behind me and give me a tight squeeze.  With a similar sense of spontaneous affection, I believe Enoch walked with God just to bring joy to God's heart, and we can experience the same.  

Friends, let's walk with God.  May we choose a life that abides in His presence and conforms to His values and purposes.  May we grow in our reliance upon the Lord and willingness to lay self aside.  And as we do, may we enjoy a life of intimacy with God not because we must or should, but simply because we desire Him and desire to cause Him great delight.