Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Daily Light - August 18, 2010

Daily Light from the Lighthouse

"And Enoch walked with God..."
Genesis 5:24

Do you remember the television program years ago called "This Is Your Life"? The premise of the show was that they would bring back people from a person's past, such as school teachers, high school friends, and others to be reunited with the special guest. When these guests would come out they would talk about how they remembered the person that was being honored on this particular program. It was very interesting to hear what they had to say. Of course as you watched the program the guest was a complete stranger to you, but you got to know them somewhat by listening to how others described them. Don't you think that it would be interesting to find out how others would describe you? I am sure that would make most of us nervous. You never know what some people might say. Think about this for a second. What if the guest that was chosen to describe you was not an old high school buddy or your first boss, but out walked God Himself? He was given the opportunity to tell the whole world what you were like. How many of us are excited about being on the show now?
As you read the Bible, there are times that you begin to run through the list of genealogies, and it can become quite tedious. The first such list is right here in Genesis 5. It starts with Adam and continues through the generations until we get to Noah and his three sons. We are introduced to that fabulous word "begat", and we see it again, and again, and again. This chapter is a generational journal that I am sure was copied from the flyleaf of Noah's Bible. It listed who was born, how long they lived until their son was born, and how long they lived until they died. Many scholars believe that some of the authorship of the Pentateuch changed at these genealogies, and it was a breaking point for the books. Whatever it may be, often there is a golden nugget found in these lists.
Remember our television program that you are on where God is going to tell every one what you are like? The first such case happened in verse 24. The list is continuing on and on and on then suddenly there is a personal word about a man named Enoch. It does not describe his looks, his abilities, his talents, his charisma, or any of his accomplishments. God simply tells us about him: "Enoch walked with God." That is the simplest and yet probably the most powerful thing that God could ever say about someone. Over the years I have heard people be introduced to a congregation. Often you will hear someone introduced, and all of their accomplishments will be lauded and praised before the people. It is meant to impress the audience that is about to hear the speaker or singer. What if the person given the responsibility for introducing the guest walked up to the podium and said, "I would like to introduce to you (Your Name), a person who walks with God"? That is what we should be striving for, but not before a congregation but before God Almighty. What does He think about our lives?
May you live worthy of that introduction!

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