“Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” (Genesis 5:24 NASB)
Did you ever notice how one’s behavior changes when “the authority” is present? I think it does, in most cases. Here are some examples to support my position.
Example: Young children are acting like they are auditioning for “Children Gone Wild” when the babysitter is in charge. The babysitter says, “Wait until your parent(s) get home.” When the parent(s) come home, chaos turns to calm, wildness turns to a respectful willingness to conform to parental expectations in terms of behavior. Example: Production slowed down when the supervisor was at a half day meeting or conference, but as soon as the supervisor returned, the pace of production picked up.
One more example: A substitute teacher, on more than once occasion, pretended to pick up his phone and call a disruptive student’s parent to report on how they were behaving. Most of the time, the sub was just pretending in hopes of bringing about order. But one day, to create a “you never know” if he is for real or not, the substitute teacher actually called a parent who lived close to the school. Within 15 minutes, the parent showed up and was escorted promptly by the front office manager to the disruptive student’s classroom. The door to the classroom opens slowly. Every student turns to see who is coming in the room. Was it the principal, the vice principal, or the regular teacher stopping by to pick up something? No, it was the parent of the disruptive student. All of a sudden, the disruptive student started working as a pupil with great discipline and as if he/she had been anointed suddenly with angelic characteristics that were pleasing to the Almighty Himself.
The point I am trying to convey is behavior changes when “the authority” is present. Guess what? Oh, I’ll tell you what! You should live like the presence of the Lord is with you all the time. You should live like Enoch in the verse above and the same verse, just from another translation below. Live this week and every day of the week, and each new day you are blessed to see; live as you are walking with God, living with God, and as if He is in your very presence. You do know He is omniscient, don’t you? You do know He is omnipresent, don’t you?
Don’t be intimidated by His authority but be inspired to live a godly life as you walk steadily with the Lord from this day forth. Oh, you will not be perfect, but you will be progressively better in the presence of authority. Be blessed!
“Enoch walked steadily with God. And then one day he was simply gone: God took him.” (Genesis 5:24 The Message Bible)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King