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Do we think that 'walking with God' is an extremely rare privilege given to individuals like Enoch? No, it was what Adam and Eve enjoyed every day before they fell. It was what God designed us for, and it is when we live like that that we find the maximum fulfilment in life. When a child of God calls Him 'Father', he or she has the right to walk into His presence freely, and spend all the time with Him. That was what God asked Abraham to do, to walk before Him and to be perfect (Ge.17:1).

When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God and eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, it was not merely a matter of disobedience. It was actually a declaration of independence. That was what the Devil made Eve believe, that if she ate that fruit she could have her own independent knowledge of good and evil, and she could be independent like God, doing what she liked (Ge.3:5). We are her children, born into this world wanting to do our own thing (Ps.51:5). That is the essence of sin – to please ourselves, to do what we like, irrespective of what God tells us.

Salvation is not merely forgiving of our sins, but a restoration to the state where God wanted us to be. It is not that God graciously forgives us our past sins and makes provision for our forgiveness in future whenever we confess our sins. Many people seem to think that way, and continue to live their lives as before without any turning away from sins. But those who have been truly born again and made children of God want to stop sinning and to cleanse themselves from all of the different aspects of their old sinful nature (1Jn.3:3).

Another thing that happens in such people's lives is that they now want to be pleasing to God in everything in their life. They want to know more clearly what God wants them to do in different situations, and make themselves living sacrifices for God (Ro.12:1). All their life revolves around what God wants, and what will bring glory to Him (Mt.6:9,10). Even though they are living in this world like everyone else, their heart is bound to God and in eternity (Col.3:1). That is how they learn to walk with God.

People tend to think that walking with God will be a monotony, always having to read the Bible, pray, etc., and missing all the fun in life. But those who have tasted the life God has prepared for them recognise that it is in His presence that we can enjoy true and lasting pleasure (Ps.16:11). Those pleasures are not only while we are on earth, but also through eternity (1Ti.4:8).

Even so, what really draws us to this life of walking with God is not so much the pleasure we can get but the satisfaction in knowing that we are with God, knowing that we are doing what He wants. We cannot imagine a life that is better than that.

Of course, this is a life we grow into, not something that we get overnight through some great experience. The way to this life involves taking up our cross daily, denying ourselves and following Jesus (Lk.9:23).

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