(family, wealth, dignity, health, etc.), he found himself in this place of wondering. He asked himself "Who can challenge him [God]?" and "Why then did you bring me out of the womb?" By chapter ten, Job was questioning why he had even been crafted if God only planned to tear him apart. He determined that "even the light is like darkness." Then Job hoped aloud, "If only there were someone to mediate between us [him and God], someone to bring us together."
Anyone living in that time period would have probably experienced the same type of thoughts. Before Jesus came, there would seem to be little hope. What could a mere mortal do to justify himself before the Almighty God? This line gave me chills because, in this time period, I have knowledge of the mediator that would soon come. His name is and was Jesus ("For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus" 1 Timothy 2:5). Because of his death on the cross for us, we have what Job hoped for. To Job's Old Testament comment on how even the light is like the darkness, the apostle John joyfully answers with a New Testament hope that "the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:5). Also, the Holy Spirit acts as our mediator every day between God the Father and us ("But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." John 14:26). Again I say, we have what Job had hoped for. Now, this is the part that really blows my mind. This summer, I spent six weeks in East Asia in hopes of fulfilling the great commission and seeing the awesome things God has been doing over there. I had many conversations with East Asia nationals that were all the same age as me. With a handful of them, I asked the big question-- "What do you believe?" Many, many of those people answered with "I believe in myself." Many of those I asked had everything that they needed/wanted and saw no need or want for a being higher than themselves. Their only goal in life was to just simply "try again and try harder." Does this not sound like a similar American mentality? This "I believe in myself" answer always broke my heart a little more for the United States-- a place where most of us live like Job did before everything was stripped from him. To most, there isn't much a need for a god. Why would there be? All to be done is to try again and to try harder. If we fail, then we can fix it ourselves. If we succeed, we achieved it on our own. The more that I spoke the gospel to myself and others in East Asia, I realized how BEAUTIFUL our God is. Jesus came to earth to die on the cross for our sins to bring us into an intimate relationship with our Creator. We are made perfect through Jesus Christ. We have a mediator between God and ourselves. Yet, we choose to continue out on our own. We would rather believe in ourselves. Job, who lived as most of us lived, found himself eventually pleading for death over life. He no longer had hope when all worldly things were stripped from him-- wealth, security, family, and so on. He had hoped for a mediator. If you don't get anything from this, I hope that you understand the immensity of Job's one little verse in a rather enormous book. We have what Job had hoped for. I mean, wow.
1 Comment
7/29/2016 11:32:18 am
Kayla,
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