January 21
Job 8:1-11:20
From when we are young we are taught that you get what you earn. This is so ingrained into every facet of our lives. If you practice hard you will become a better athlete. If you study hard you will get a better job and earn a higher salary. If you live your life well you will find a good spouse, have good children, and a happy life. If you live responsibly then you will live healthy and die at an old age. This is what is taught and it centers around the word, "deserve". So when this carefully mapped out plan does not work out as expected, the result is anger, depression, frustration, etc. because we are not getting what we deserve, and others who seem less deserving seem to be attaining more. While talking to a long term patient of mine, who truly is a lovely person, upon reflecting on the current state of affairs in our nation, our philosophies took opposite directions. I explained that though things might not currently make any sense, that I had complete peace knowing that God has been and always will be in charge. I explained that our nation is godless, as bad as any of the nations described in the Bible and that His story is moving forward. With all the death and misery, she could not accept that God was fair or benevolent. She then gave the typical example of the young child dying of cancer as the example of His unfairness. I discussed eternity as the great equalizer and that this young child would be in heaven not being accountable for his decision to follow Christ at such a young age. I then explained that our starting points were entirely different. While most start from the point of what they deserve and what they have earned, those in Christ, myself included, realize that I deserve absolutely nothing. That if I was judged by God for my sins I would not make it through the day. I reiterated that my hope and my peace was in God, based not on what I have done but based on His grace and His mercy. The world's philosophy ends in frustration, God offers peace instead, based on the finished work of His Son, Jesus Christ, and what He did for us.
We see the stinging rebuke of Bildad in Job 8:3-7, "Does God twist justice? Does the Almighty twist what is right? Your children must have sinned against him, so their punishment was well deserved. But if you pray to God and seek the favor of the Almighty, and if you are pure and live with integrity, he will surely rise up and restore your happy home. And though you started with little, you will end with much." It is a common thought that if you live a good life, especially if you place your faith and trust in God, then God will shower His earthly blessings upon you. But even a cursory walk through the Scriptures reveals the erroneous nature of this conclusion. Also, despite this prevalent philosophy, life on earth teaches us that this is not true. This philosophy was prevalent when Jesus was ministering, and Jesus gives them an important truth after His encounter with the Rich, Young Ruler in Matthew 19:24-26, " I’ll say it again—it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked. Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” Psalm 73 highlights the difficulty in understanding why at times it appears that the wicked prosper and the godly struggle. God's truth and the world's philosophy are polar opposites, as we read in Isaiah 55:8-9, "“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." Despite saying much wrong, Job's third friend does speak some truth when he said in Job 11:6, "If only he would tell you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom is not a simple matter. Listen! God is doubtless punishing you far less than you deserve!" Sin deserves punishment. God doesn't overlook sin, but offers mercy.
Does this mean that since we deserve nothing that we shouldn't work hard, practice hard, live well, etc.? Of course not. God has given us one life on this earth and then eternity. We should do all that we can humanly do to live it all for the glory of God. But what I do is in appreciation for the opportunities that He has given me, not as a means of earning points, or earning HIs gifts. Expecting little, realizing that we deserve nothing makes one appreciative of what He offers rather than what we expect. When Jim Eliot and his four fellow missionaries were martyred at the hands of the Auca Indians in Ecuador, many called the event a "tragic waste of manpower." But Jim Eliot, had previously said, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." Their publicized deaths did much to launch the current missionary movement. William Whiting Borden gave up a life of wealth and prosperity to enter the mission field. Some called his life a waste, since he died in Egypt in 1913 on his way to the mission field. But God used the story of his brief life to challenge people to give Christ their all. He is quoted as saying, "No reserves. No retreats. No regrets." Praise God this day for His never ending grace and mercy, realizing that He indeed does not give His children what they deserve, but lovingly offers so much, even one day eternity with Him in heaven, to us His undeserving children.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: