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Cross Words: Vanishing Act
Only 6 verses in the Bible are dedicated to a man by the name of Enoch (Gen. 5:18-19, 21-24).  But in those few short sentences we gain a wealth of information about the man with the strange name.
Genealogically speaking we learn that Enoch was the son of a man named Jared.  He was a father to a number of sons and daughters, the most famous being Methuselah, the longest living individual ever according to the Bible.
Enoch was not only famous for having a famous child but he gained notoriety for being only 1 of 2 individuals who never tasted physical death.  Like the prophet Elijah, Enoch was at one moment present on the face of the earth and the next in the presence of God.  “Enoch walked with God, then he was no more, because God took him away (v. 24).
What led to Enoch’s divine disappearance?  Why did God allow him to make a unique transition into the ethereal realm?  The key is that he simply “walked with God 300 years” (v. 22).  In other words Enoch became so intimate with God, so lost in himself, so consumed by his creator, that he failed to exist.
We as believers have been instructed to participate in our own disappearance.  Paul the apostle said that our lives are to be “hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3).  John the Baptist stated that his goal in life was to become less while Christ became more (John 3:30).  Not to be misunderstood, Jesus simply said that we are to lose our lives for His sake (Matt. 10:39).
To allow Christ to be seen in us we must first determine to make ourselves scarce. Our sinful, self-absorbed, self-indulgent attitudes must be put aside if we really want God to do something through us.  And while this vanishing act probably won’t buy any of us an easy ticket to heaven, it will nonetheless be a thrilling ride.

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