I was reading Job this morning and have started the practice of making a list of all I can learn about God imagining I only had the book in front of me. This is something that was encouraged by LDI and has encouraged me to read more. By Chapter 9 of Job, He, the main guy of the book (as is obvious by the name) has had everything taken from him-his children, his flocks, his servants, his life-and now his body has been afflicted with sores and the like. His wife has told him just to curse God, die and be done with it. To which he replies in chapter 2, " You foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?" Later his 'friends' come. He's lamenting to them. He wishes he had never been born and that God would just end his misery. Meanwhile his friends have accused him that he must have done something wrong to deserve this (he hadn't) because only the wicked are harmed. Right then, smack in the middle of all this, the most beautiful line for the New Testament believer is spoken:
"If only there were someone to arbitrate between us! To lay his hand upon us both. Someone to remove God's rod from me, so that his terror would frighten me no more. Then I would speak up without fear of him, but as it now stands with me, I cannot." Job 9:33-35
In Job's time, his understanding of God was different than ours. He knows God is all-controlling. He knows that good and bad come from the hand of God. Here we have a just God, who is the supreme authority on right and wrong (something Job is struggling through, much like we do today) and Job, desiring mercy and relationship cries out of his heart the passage above. How sweet the foreshadowing of Jesus.
The reality that Jesus came, became a man, took the wrath of God that we rightly deserve for our sins upon himself, removing our transgressions so that we could speak to the Almighty God without fear of him, is something Job only dreamed of. Albeit he could not have even fathomed such a beautiful thing. It's beyond human imagination. The cross demonstrates so many attributes of God: his supreme justice, and his boundless mercy, his incredible love and his incredible desire to be in community with his creation. A God that will not allow evil to go unpunished had designed away to do right-as is his character-and yet to not destroy the ones he loves.
We live in a blessed time, my friends. The Almighty has conquered sin and death and we live in a time when the Holy Spirit is active and God is not silent. We are free from sins chains and we have freedom in Christ Jesus to believe, live and lavish the love he poured out on us on others.
While my facebook is exploding with people frantic and ecstatic about our president, I am encouraged by the reality that kings rise, fall and the cycle repeats. Time progresses and we have years of hardship and years of jubilee and through all of this we have one true hope and that's Christ Jesus. I'm learning daily to cast my eyes on the reality that this life is so short term, and that the joy and awesomeness that comes when we get to live under the perfect commander-and-chief (one who died for us, forsaking himself so that we could be with him existing without sin, tears and without pain.) is coming so soon. I'm looking forward to that.
In the meantime, I'm excited to support and pray for our President, Mr. Obama and see how God uses him. I know God is in control of all things, and look forward to seeing God's kingdom advance. God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Hope we all have an awesome day reflecting on the ridiculous amounts of freedom we have been given. Both in living in the U.S. and for the believer, living in Christ. We don't deserve either. May we be marked by thankfulness, compassion and a whole lot of humility at such great gifts we could never have gained on our own.
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