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The story of Job has always intrigued me for a variety of reasons. Here he was, the man that God himself was impressed with. “Have you seen my friend Job?” It almost sounds as though God himself were boasting. “Look around. Try to find anyone that is more stable, more blameless than he is! Try to find someone. I dare you!”
Apparently, God had reason to boast (If God boasted). Job had it all together. He was the poster child for spiritual living. Job had it all. A great church, a great family, well behaved kids and although Scripture says little about her, I’m guessing his wife was a knock-out.
If Job were alive today he could probably have whatever he wanted. The evangelicals would flock to him as the one who could do away with all the social ills. Those on the other side would have to admit he was a class act. Besides, he had money, and money always speaks loud and clear.
Try looking at Job from a human perspective. Look at his story without the advantage we have of the backstage drama between God and Satan. At the peak of his career Job suffers the trifecta of disasters. Economically he loses all his livestock. In his day, livestock = $$. Secondly, he loses everything relationally. The one thing every man hopes for is to leave a heritage behind him. Job lost any hope of passing on his good name that day when, due to natural disaster, every one of his children was killed. But, he still had his health, right? A man can suffer lots of adversity if he’s healthy. Not so fast. Job loses his health too.
So here he is, this man of greatness wallowing in a burnt out campfire scraping his sores with a dirty, broken piece of an old dish.
Enter the church…well, maybe not exactly the church, but close. Three of Jobs ‘closest friends’ come to hold an intervention. Perhaps Job’s demise was casting a dark shadow on their ministry. Give them the benefit of a doubt. Maybe they were there with good intentions. Whatever their motives, the men all had the same message for Job. The message was worded differently, and arguments were made rationally, from our perspective. The bottom line to these ‘friends of Job’ was that adversity comes as a result of sin. Job suffered adversity. Therefore Job sinned.
It’s a simple equation that has been handed down through the centuries. Sin = adversity. Spirituality = Blessing. We have to explain things. We have to give reasons for those times when our Theology about a God of Love falls short. We all have the tendency to explain those times when ‘good people’ suffer and ‘bad people’ are victorious.
Eventually, Job had his wealth and position restored, and a new family to carry on his good name. But Job learned a valuable lesson that each of us needs to learn and I have to admit I’m not good at this yet. That lesson is this. God is God. He is sovereign in all he does.
While I’m not advocating that when trials come we need to don the sackcloth and grab the nearest broken plate on our way to the burnt-out campfire, each of us needs to take the time, during the tough times, to stop and evaluate what got us here. Sometimes it is our sin. Sometimes it’s the sin of others. Sometimes we won’t know.
I appreciate the fact that Job questioned God. He didn’t question YAHWEH’s existence. He evaluated himself and could find no sin. But he shows each of us a couple valuable lessons.
First, God is God and is of another world. We have no idea of the future. We have no idea what is going on in the spiritual realm involving our lives. It takes faith, but each of us must look first to see if there is sin that needs to be dealt with. If so, deal with it. Ask repentance and work towards a cure with the help of the Holy Spirit. If not, faithfully trust that God will eventually make His way plain. It may not be until heaven, but He will reveal Himself.
Secondly, it’s okay to question God, to ask for answers. To share frustrations. To cry. Our Heavenly Father isn’t an emotionally weak old man that can’t handle adversity or argument. He’s a loving, understanding Heavenly Father that only has our best in mind, and He knows better than us what is best for us.
Lastly, stay true to yourself. There are many people out there that will tell you exactly why you are going through this trial and what you need to do to get out of it. Before you jump on some ‘quick cure’ bandwagon spend some time with the Master. Then listen with a Godly wisdom to that others say.
(From ‘Sifted as Wheat’)
What must it have been like for the disciples during the forty days that Jesus walked on earth between His Resurrection and His Ascension into the heavens?
Imagine the emotional rollercoaster these men and women rode during that approximate six week period. Just when things seem to be coming together, Jesus announces that He’s going to Jerusalem and that He’ll be put to death. That alone must have caused quite a stir. How could that happen? He was riding this huge wave of popularity and taking His followers with Him.
Still, true to His word, within one week His closest friends go from accompanying a future King down the streets of Jerusalem, to the cheers of the crowds along the street, to watching Him die a horrific death on the cross. Some stood and watched from a distance. Others boldly stood at the foot of the cross and watched him breathe his last.
Then, just three days later, as they mourned in hiding for fear of their lives, He reappears to them! They can touch Him, eat with him and ask him all those questions they had neglected to ask while he was on earth. I would imagine that every word that Jesus spoke was treasured more than ever before. Questions that had been in the back of their minds were asked. Clarifications sought. This time, they would listen to every word that came from His mouth. He would not be taken for granted.
Luke relates the story of Jesus’ last words in Acts 1:1-11. It was time for Him to leave. This time, He would be gone for a long time. The success or failure of His Church rested on those around Him. During His earthly ministry he taught them along the road side, demonstrated the love of His Father to the prostitutes and healed the hopelessly sick. Now, His attention turned to His faithful followers. To borrow from the sports world, it was GAME TIME! Once the ball is tipped off or kicked, or that first pitch is thrown, learning new skills is over. Now, the effective coach reminds his charges of the things learned in drills and practice.
In the same way, Jesus reminds them of all He had taught them about life’s struggles and about their relationship with the Father, built on His sacrifice and empowered by His Holy Spirit. Now, they gather on a hillside outside Jerusalem. It is here that Jesus gives His final words of blessing before being taken up. As the disciples watched Him grow smaller and smaller as He rose heavenward, two angels appear to them. Their words motivate me. To paraphrase, they ask those gathered, why are you standing here? What do you hope to see? Are you gazing and thinking of the past or contemplating the future? Go back to Jerusalem and wait.
There’s a sense of urgency in this passage that each of us needs to consider. It’s time we stop being bound by our past. It’s time we stop speculating about the future. The past is forgiven under the cross. The future is God’s hands. It is, now, time for each of us to get in the game. It’s time to do Kingdom work under the power of the Holy Spirit.
Excerpt from “Ready, Set, Grow!”
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:17 NIV
It seems everyone in the world knows John 3:16. What a great promise. God loved the world. He sent us His Son. Through belief in him we have eternal life. Great stuff! I wonder how many people have noticed an even greater truth that lies in Jesus’ next statement.
Before you spend too much time thinking about 3:17, place yourself in the mind of the woman caught in adultery (John 9). You are drug through the streets of the city. You are guilty of adultery and soon everyone will know it. What’s worse, in a matter of minute’s rocks and stones will shower down on you. There will be no place to hide. No chance to defend yourself. You’d manage, you think, to deflect the first few. But it would be a losing battle.
You kneel before the feet of a great teacher. You are surrounded by your accusers. Hope is gone. You decide your best defense is no defense at all. You kneel and cover your head with your hands. Perhaps your hands will at least deflect some of the pain for a time. You brace yourself for the first stone and wait. But it doesn’t come. Imagine the agony and the knot in your stomach.
“Woman, where are your accusers?” A gentle voice breaks the silent anguish that grips your very soul. Cautiously, you look up and to your shock, you are alone with the teacher. Gathering your thoughts, you speak.
“There are none, sir.” You pause to let that sink in. “Th-there is no one here.”
“Then, neither do I condemn you. Go, and leave the life of sin you are living.”
I don’t think any of us can fully grasp the relief the woman felt that day. Death was literally moments away. The stones were in hand. The verdict was in. The law and sentence were clear. Yet, at the last possible moment, the pardon rang loud and clear. NO CONDEMNATION!
All of us find ourselves, at some point, where the woman found herself that day. We become grossly aware of our weaknesses and failings. We suffer the pain of the consequences that our poor choices bring to fruition.
Three times in the book of John alone, Jesus references His mission on earth in relation to condemnation. In John 3:17 Jesus tells us that he came to bring life. He didn’t come to condemn us. He didn’t come to burden us with the law. He came to release us, to free us, to deliver us from condemnation. He came to bring us life!
In John 9 He demonstrates that principle in the account of the woman caught in adultery. Later, in John 12:47-48, in some of Jesus’ last teachings on earth He repeats the fact that he did not come to judge those who rejected him. They would be condemned for that rejection, for sure, but it would be their own words that would condemn them and they would be judged by another [Father God] for their actions.
Condemnation will come to those who reject Jesus. Romans 3:23, and other passages speak clearly to the fact that we, as mankind fall far short of God’s standard. Romans 6:23 teaches that our sin nature will lead us to death without a Savior.
But Romans 6 & 7 teach us something else about condemnation In this section of Paul’s letter to the Roman church, he reveals his own inner struggle with sin. The things he desires to do, he fails to do. The things he attempts to avoid, he finds himself doing. What truth does this ‘wretched man’ find in his struggle?
Romans 8:1 gives us the answer. ‘There is therefore, NO CONDEMNATION to those who are in Christ Jesus.’ There are many out there that will be willing to point out our faults, question our motives, and mock our sincere intentions.
There will be times we fail miserably, and deliberately and we condemn ourselves. It is in those darkest moments, when we realize our guilt and huddle in a fetal position before the Lord, waiting for the rocks to fall, His gentle, soft voice beckons us: ‘Neither do I condemn thee. Go, and sin no more.’
(excerpt from ‘Living GRACE-fully with Sin’)
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 