Pedro became a follower of Jesus at fifty. He’d been an angry, vindictive man who hurt those around him. As he received counseling from his church, he felt remorse over his past. “I now have less years ahead of me than behind me,” he said. “I want to live them well. But how?”

Pedro found his answer in an unlikely source─a genealogy. As he read Moses’ account of Adam’s family line, he noted that one sentence was repeated to describe Adam’s descendants: “ ‘Altogether, [name] lived a total of [number] years, and then he died” (see Genesis 5:8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 27, 31). But one man was described differently.”

Enoch was described as one who “walked faithfully with God” (vv. 22, 24). He drew near to God, and that’s how he spent his earthly life. Because of his faith, “he was commended as one who pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5). Enoch had a steadfast, abiding trust in who God was and what He’d do for those who sought Him (v. 6). He expressed his trust in the Almighty by acting on it and obeying Him, and his faith was such that God spared him from physical death (v. 5).

“How can I live my years well?” Pedro asked. “By walking faithfully with God.”

Our earthly life doesn’t have to be summed up in just a number. It can be summed up in our faith, which allows God to work in more ways than we can count.