Everyday thinkers who prefer to explore life as it actually is experienced in our world, much to quickly throughout the Bible as wishful thinking. Maybe, as some of us do say, the Bible is an everyday document. Real life, the life we all experience day by day, is recorded within the pages of our Bible.
Old
Testament faith is given to us as a song by the youthful lyrist David in Psalms
25: 10. “All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful (truth), toward those
who keep the demands of his covenant.” (TNIV)
David seems
to say that if we are good little boys and girls, then we are entitled to a
blessed, good or happy life. We real life thinkers might ask; can life be that
simple or is there more to the story?
The Old
Testament Book of Job says, yes, there is more to the story. Most will say that
there was not an actual person named Job but whoever wrote this story knew Job
intimately. In the story, Job was a believer in David’s brand of spirituality. Life
was uncomplicated, he had been blessed with family, friends, landowner status
and great wealth, seemingly because of his earthly religious rule keeping.
Then the
dying motif invaded Job’s world. From a great winner in life, Job became a
great loser. Family, friends, wealth and
even his health were taken from him, he complained day and night crying out, my
God, why? Where or how have I sinned
against you that you have taken away all your blessings? Bewildered and arguing
with God, the now beggar Job questions the truth of his religion as he steadfastly
claims his innocence.
The moral of
this story is twofold, guilt or innocence is not the issue. God values our trust regardless of our
circumstances in this life and God values the long term as we value all the
temporary short-term stuff. After great
complaining to God and the questioning of God, Job makes the biggest, gut felt
faith acknowledgement in the Bible. Job cries out, as both a winner and a
loser,
“Though he (God) slay me, yet will I trust (hope)
in him.” (Job 13: 15)
G. Goslaw
Landers, Ca
