June 1, 2026:

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah.  After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters.  Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” (Genesis 5.21-24)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

On our way to the days of Noah, we are given a litany of forefathers who themselves were of the line of those “called on the name of the Lord.” We have already considered the distinction between those who were “the people of God” and the rest of the world (the human population) who were of God’s people. I identify them as such because all life comes from God. All life has meaning and purpose. All life is lived with a choice of direction in spite of circumstances. There will always be challenges, trials, tribulations and consequences for the various choices that are made and situations that are sometimes “handed” to us. Those challenges and situations do not exist because of what we have done, necessarily, but because of what others have done. They are the consequences which arose from the choices others have made. Just as “in one man, Adam, all men sinned, and sin was brought into the world, so in one Man, Jesus Christ, all men can be saved and receive the righteousness of God.” (paraphrase of the whole of this theology of Paul in his letter of Romans.) What is the legacy of those who make the choices to “call on the name of the Lord“? What is the legacy of those who make the choices to not? In Genesis 5, we see a brief glimpse of those who do. They live long lives and bring sons and daughters into the world with the legacy of those who “call upon the name of the Lord.” They have extraordinarily long lives by any count of years. In many instances, they do not bring children into the world until they are over 100 years. Does this mean that there is a different way to understand how long those years were? Is it like many modern television series who have multiple seasons in one year where it used to be there was only one per year? (Why they do that now is more likely associated with financial remuneration than anything else.) Regardless, most of those “fathers” lived beyond 900 years. As their names are recorded in that “Book of Life,” it simply says they “died.” It would seem they all died of old age which would be a natural cause all by itself. All, that is, except for one. His name was Enoch. He was the father of the man reported to have lived the longest. His name was Methusaleh. He lived to be 969 years. He died in the year of the Great Flood.

And what was different about Enoch? When Enoch lived, he walked with God. He not only called upon the name of the Lord in his life but modelled it with sincerely “365.” Interesting to stop and just “number” it for our modern lives. What would it mean to walk with God every day of your life without fail or falter for 365/24/365? Enoch is not remembered for how he died but for how he lived. What should our legacy be as a walk by faith and not by sight?

TODAY’S PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.