Job 1-2
All I keep thinking is "Poor Job," and "Poor his people." It really sucks for them. They're getting murdered, burned, and killed by natural disasters. There's so much death. I can't imagine what a sad place Job's house must have become. And then, after all that, this is what he does:
20 Job got to his feet, ripped his robe, shaved his head, then fell to the ground and worshiped:
21 Naked I came from my mother's womb,
naked I'll return to the womb of the earth.
God gives, God takes.
God's name be ever blessed.
22 Not once through all this did Job sin; not once did he blame God.
This is truly amazing. The first thing he does in his mourning is worship God. He praises God. This demonstrates his incredible faith in God. And if Job worshiped, after all these awful sufferings, then we, with our smaller sufferings, should most certainly follow his example.
Matthew 13: 1-23
The Harvest parable is perfect to accompany Job because it is a story of how suffering in our lives sheds light on what our faith is like.
One of the other things to note about the Harvest story is that it demonstrates that we are not responsible for anyone else's faith/salvation. This is the whole idea of "You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink." We can, and should, share the truth of Jesus. We can be the light of the world. We can tell the good news, but we cannot determine how it will be received or what people will do with it.
I have been thinking about this post for the past week. I have been working a lot in order to save up money before my hours got cut for school. I found myself first lamenting the fact that I had to work so much, and then lamenting the fact that I could not work as much in addition to having to start school. I mean, how silly and ridiculous is that?
ReplyDeleteI remember Job's story and I remember what it means to really, actually suffer. I remember that I have my friends, my family and my health. I remember that I am fortunate enough to have a steady job at all, and that I am extremely fortunate enough to be able to pursue a higher education. There is stress involved with undertaking these pursuits simultaneously, but it pales, oh how it pales, in comparison to how incredibly blessed I actually am. Whenever I begin to let the bad attitude of a coworker get to me, or begin to be swayed by the idea that I am anything less than blessed, I remember Job's story, and this post, and remind myself of how wrong I am.
I remember this when others are lamenting about their own problems as well, which, while I'm sure they are irritating to those people, seem slight in comparison with the bigger picture.
Coming to terms with the idea that I am not responsible for the salvation of others was somewhat difficult for me when I was younger. My grandfather, who was a preacher for some time, often spoke in his sermons about how we as Christians are responsible for spreading the word of God. My grandpa was so fiery and so passionate in all of his sermons that I could not help but take him anything less than absolutely seriously. I thought it was my obligation to spread the message and that if I was not listened to, the fault was in how I had tried to speak to that person. As I grew older, I realized that's not the case, and that their decision is not ultimately on my shoulders. I've wondered if that's something that other young Christians struggle with, and I think it's something that some Christians do struggle with even at older ages; but, I think that, ultimately, the worst thing we can do as Christians is try to shove the idea of God down someone's throat and force them to believe. I see people attempting to do that sometimes, and it just sends shivers up my spine. What an awful of idea of God and Christians to leave with somebody.