Living the Life

Genesis 4-5

What does it mean to you when you hear someone saying they are “living the life”?

One of my favorite quotes of all time is from a famous movie of my young adulthood that said, “Everyone dies but not everyone truly lives.”  Could you say right now that you have truly lived?  Recently, I have been overwhelmed and blessed by God’s ever-present help in my life.  All of it, a reminder that I am made to spend eternity in His holy presence.

In our text this week, we see many people named.  Some live a long time and some live a short time.  One name stands out among the many, Enoch, because it says “he was not found for God took him.”  It’s not completely clear what this means but it stands out.

We get some clarity on what happened with Enoch in the New Testament passage of Hebrews 11:5 when the writer states, “By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him.  Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.”  This verse by itself is a powerful reminder of the work that faith in the LORD God will do in the life of the one who lives by it.  Also worth noting, Enoch is named in the hall of faith chapter of Hebrews but not his son who is credited with living the longest of any human on earth.  Clearly, God’s greatest concern for us is not on length of days but on the faith that fills them. 

We should not be surprised that death is coming for each person because of judgment on sin unless the LORD God gets to us first.  If there was hope for the son of Cain then I want to glean from that same hope today. Jesus as the Christ gets the last word over death.  His own death and resurrection are the guarantee that He is able, faithful and will do it.  The bedrock of our assurance for Him keeping His promises to us is in His steadfast love for us demonstrated most notably at the cross for us.

In this life, have you ever known a love so great as this?  Without that, you have not truly lived!  May we know that hope springs eternal because the perfect Keeper is pursuing us to keep us by His side forevermore.  May we walk with faith in our LORD God and His ability to do it!

Grateful & Hopeful in Christ,

Jon