The other reason I never cared much for this book is that once you got past chapter three I couldn't relate. Job was a righteous man. Yes, he had his flaws and sins, but he was a good man, who lived well, cared for others and did right enough that all the people considered him good, at least until everything started going wrong. Even God bragged on him. Look at Job! He loves me and serves me well! He lives righteously! Yeah, I never imagined that being said by God or anybody who knew me well. I was the hell raising preacher's son, not even in the neighborhood of righteous. So I didn't have Job's issue of why is this happening? I haven't been wicked! I've been good!
But you see, Job had a major misunderstanding of God, and it's the same one that I had. In fact, I have encountered many with this same misconception. I think it's one of the greatest slanders about the Creator that Satan has ever sold humanity. In chapters 29-31 Job goes off on a rant. First he lists all kinds of good things he does. Then he lists all kinds of bad things that he doesn't do and says basically if he were the kind of man who did these things he would understand why all the horrible things that had happened and were happening did so.
It's like a 7-year-old little league baseball player pointing out how much better he is than the T-baller and thinking that makes him as good as a pro hall of famer. But like it or not, he's really a lot closer in skill level to the T-baller than a pro. Even Job's goodness doesn't compare to God's. In fact, as hard as it is for us little leaguers to grasp or believe sometimes, Job's great righteousness was closer to this preacher's son's hell raising than to God's holy righteousness. And let's face it, even those of us who know we aren't righteous often do what Job did when trouble comes.
Wait a minute! I know I'm not perfect, but I don't deserve THIS much evil in my life! Or we may sit down in the dirt, afraid to even ask for help because we feel we do deserve what's happening, maybe even worse. These two attitudes are different sides of the same plug nickel. The truth is that wicked people often suffer, while other wicked people seem to get everything they want and not suffer any consequences to not living right. At the same time, good people, as we little leaguers define goodness, often don't get rewarded for their goodness, while others do indeed seem to be blessed. The curse effects us all good and bad, and darkness comes as the rain falls in every life.
Following rules and doing more good than bad, or avoiding the really bad bad doesn't earn us the right to demand that suffering doesn't enter our lives. God is not obligated by our goodness, which really isn't all that good anyway, especially when the truth of motives is revealed, to act in any certain way toward us. Nor does our evil force God to immediately and without hesitation judge us and send the locusts and the lightning bolts. None of us are truly good. None of us are totally evil. Every saint is also a sinner, and every sinner can be a saint.
No little league player deserves to be admitted into the Pro Hall of Fame based on performance, and none of us deserve heaven or to be spared all suffering, not even those, like Job, that we recognize as closer to good than most of us. There is none good but God, and that is good news for all of us. Why? Because the God that has every right to leave us all to all just deserts, our misery and the hell we have all earned refused to do any of that. He made a way for us to become by His grace and power more than we could ever be on our own. He gave us His righteousness! He gave us His power and ability to play the game with His skill.
No, God is not obligated to do anything based on our goodness. If life were fair we'd all be miserable. Praise God for His great mercy and grace! The great news is that no matter how much wickedness we've displayed, no matter how much hell we've raised, we don't have to sit in the dirt and accept what we deserve. God's great desire is to lift us up, to bring us into relationship with Him, to heal and restore us and give us the life that we don't deserve. All this and heaven too. The truth is that no matter how good we are, it's not good enough, but God doesn't say you're closer to the others. You don't need as much help. He's offered the same help to the strong and the weak, to the good and the bad, because compared to Him we are all weak and wicked.
Today let us throw away the lists of good and bad that we measure ourselves and others by, regardless of where we fall on the scale. Let us throw ourselves on the mercy of His love and give thanks that He desires relationship with us, Let us release the desire to be good enough or strong enough to deserve fellowship with God and accept His grace for our lives.
Unshackled Life Ministries is grateful for every person that reads the daily Unshackled Moments and or listens to the messages. I want to thank those who have clicked "like" on something that blessed or ministered to them. It is encouraging to know that God is using this ministry to help and bless others. Please remember that if God used something from this ministry to help, encourage or bless you, it could also bless someone else. Would you help get the devotions to more people by sharing the Moments and messages that you read or listen to? Hitting the share button instead of or in addition to the like button will help us reach more people with the good news of freedom and the encouragement to live an Unshackled Life. Thank you and God bless.
If you would like to have notifications of new Unshackled Moments and messages sent to you via email, send an email to dalynwoodard@mail.com requesting to be added to the list. You can also follow Dalyn Woodard (@Dalynsmsings) on Twitter or Unshackled Life Ministries on Facebook.
No comments:
Post a Comment