About walking with God

This post is dedicated to my brother Renan, is his birthday today (yesterday, as a matter of fact =P). Renan, may God give you peace that exceeds all knowledge, strenght to bear the future and grace to keep walking. We are together in this stuff.

My grandfather used to enjoy very much the story of Enoch (Gen 5:18-24). Enoch is introduced to us very briefly on the bible, seven verses to be precise. He is, anyway, cited on the book of Hebrews as one the men of faith. My grandfather used to say that Enoch used to go for long walks with God. One day, on one of their walks, he turned to God and said: "God, is late and far, i need to come back home". God, on that day, promptly answered: "Enoch, we are nearer to my home than yours, just come to mine", and so God took him away.

This story amazes me, to be honest. At the same time that from, time to time, i am more and more convinced that faith is really something complicated and hard, i remember of Enoch, the one that walked with God. It's so simple, walk with God. I'm not despising the tons of books about Theology and Spirituality, but it is, in a certain way, just walking with God. I wanna write some about that.

I've heard sermons throughout my whole life. Almost 22 years of sermons. Just some got stuck in my head, and those i remember each and every point of them.I often have experienced that the sermons i'm listening to are concerned with subjects such as God, promises, mission, how to make this and that, how to receive this and that... It kind of concerns me sometimes. It concerns me how we have been refering to God, how have we talked about Him. I get amazed how often we fall on the temptation of talking about God in a indirect or unpersonal way. We refer to God as this figure that's above, that have guided Abraham, Moses, the prophets, Jesus, Paul, John... This God that has given us the 10 commandments, that has forgiven our sins and saved us from damnation.

It's right, indeed. He did all this stuff. Or when we preach about seeking the will of God, of being light and salt of this world. It's right too. But i'm afraid that we've been missing something here. God is here, God is with us now, God is talking. Those stories in the Bible, they are alive, they are happening everyday all around the world. God is alive, God cries, God suffers, God loves. In the present tense, He is, now. We should refer to God as this one that is here,not just as a concept, and object.

More than just being alive, He is calling us to walk with Him. So many people are living their lives taking God more as a tool than as a Father. Others have lived their lives following rules, and some are quite good on that, but not realising that God is not about rules or commandments. And there are even people that live as if in between heaven and hell, living with Him as their Lord but not realising the blessings of being a servant. I guess i've been a bit of all of these profiles. I've misunderstood my calling to follow Him. Of course asking him for deliverance, following the commandments and living as His servant are part of following Him, but by themselves they don't make the walk.

"Follow me", that's what He said, in all of His callings on the Gospels. The Lord Himself calls us to follow, to walk with Him.

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I pause for a moment and think about what i'm writing now. Yesterday i went for a walk at night, past midnight. I've talking with the Lord for some minutes, pouring down every piece of me in His hands. I realised how much i was taking those moments for granted, how much i was filling myself with this follow this, follow that talk, how much i was taking more than i could on my shoulders. I realised that i was trying to live my own life, in a very sutil way, hidden in the appereance of a holy and God driven way. Living my own steps, outside the fellowship of Christ.

It's an easy trap for all of us: to take God as a principle, a machine, a thing, or whatever you want, but not taking Him as a person, as a Father. The excuses are infinite. I don't need God for this, i'm too young, i'm too old, i'm too busy, i'm too stressed... Enoch walked with God. That's enough. David walked with God, Jacob walked with God, Paul walked with God.

Let's walk with God, for His grace is enough. Enough for our doubts, our fears, our weaknesses. He is enough. We don't need self righteousness, we don't need methods, we don't need experts saying what we should do, we don't need church growth... We need to walk with Him, that's all. For in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28)

Peace be with all.