Enoch--Home Contentment

Overnight, snow fell in large fluffy balls. I woke and stepped outside to enjoy the beauty of the world bathed in white. You may think I’m overdramatic and I am. The snow-covered green and brown. The evergreen boughs drooped with the unfamiliar burden.

The soft cold flakes teased my senses, taking me to reflect on stored memories. The crisp bite of the air and the simple stillness held me captive. I breathed deep and at once I felt at home.

Reveling in the beauty my mind went to the place of my birth. In Colorado this would be a regular occurrence, only on a larger scale. Home, where the mountains proudly stood sentry with their crowns of pure white.

My heart beat a bit faster and excitement filled my veins. Finally, after so long, it snowed in Tennessee, where I now live. Until that moment, it hadn’t felt like home.

Home is where you make it. Home is where your heart is. Home is where you’re surrounded by family and friends.

I’ve heard it all.

I’ve tried but failed. I need to make the place I live, my home. Comfortable. Accept it. Embrace it.

In Genesis 5:18-24 we see a person introduced—a small cameo of the life of Enoch. Enoch is in the line from Adam to King David and from David to Jesus. He is, therefore, significant but more than an ancestor. His life mattered. In his home among relatives and the people around him, he made a difference.

He represented God. Enoch witnessed for God. We can read about him not only in Genesis, the first book of the Bible, but also in the second to last book, Jude. In Jude, we see a bit more about this man. Jude 14-15(NLT) says, Enoch, who lived in the seventh generation after Adam, prophesied about these people. He said, “Listen! The Lord is coming…”

Enoch didn’t keep his faith to himself. He spoke of a time so far in the future that we haven’t even seen it yet but he spoke about it. The point is, he lived in his earthly home but proclaimed the Lord there while knowing his ultimate forever home would be in heaven. He wanted to take as many people as he could to that wonderful place. How do we stack up to this example? Silent? Timid? Bold? Accurate in what we say?

At the first introduction to Enoch, what strikes me is his life is summed up in a profound yet short way. Genesis 5:23 tells us that Enoch lived in close fellowship with God. He lived close to God. He didn’t wait until heaven but lived closely with Him on earth. He talked to Him in prayer. He didn’t have scripture to refer to like we do. He relied on what the ancestors said and then proceeded to develop a rich relationship with the Lord.

This close relationship resulted in God taking the man to heaven without his earthly body dying. Sounds farfetched. A mystical story. Well, God is full of mystery. We cannot understand God’s ways. I can’t imagine having such a close relationship with the Lord that He takes me by the hand and all of a sudden my whole body is with Him in Heaven in an instant.

He lived a life pleasing to God based on faith. Real faith is complete trust on the One we cannot see. God is who He says He is and does what He says He will do. Period.

Do we believe that? Who God is and what He says is the foundation for everything.

The most impressive place we glimpse Enoch is in Hebrews 11:4-5. What most people refer to as the “Hall of Faith.” Here we see Enoch’s name jump off the page, being the second person with his face portrayed on the walls of the faith hall.

The Bible says that he was taken up to heaven without dying! Imagine what that would be like. Here one moment, laughing, eating, and walking on this earth and in the next breath in heaven sitting with the Father.

He enjoyed his home on earth. Embraced it. He shared his faith with those around him in love. While being content with his home on earth, he focused on the most important relationship, of that with the Lord, and tried to lead others to the same relationship. How do we stack up?

Contentment in my earthly home is one key thing I need to settle into but not with complacency. I need to be content where God has placed me and yearn for a richer relationship with Him. I need to model myself after Enoch, strengthen my relationship with the Lord, and encourage others in their walk with Him, knowing that this world is not my true home. Where is our real home? Mine is in heaven.

One thing we learn from scripture is that having accepted Christ as Savior, we are immediately in heaven with the Lord when we die. A little different than Enoch but still in an instant.

Today, we might do well to take a thermometer and gauge our passion for and relationship to the Lord. Please share your thoughts. I’d love to hear from you.