In my last 2 messages, which were parts 1 and 2 of a three-part message about Jesus and Job, I talked about the qualities in Jesus and Job which help us to deal with death, loss and suffering. Reflecting on their lives can bring us farther down the road to acceptance and healing because they are incredible examples to us, especially as we consider their lives and missions. If you didn’t have time before, do take a moment now to read Part 1 and 2 before continuing: (Link to part 1: https://blog.theeternalportal.com/job-and-jesus-part-1-of-3/ and link to part 2: https://blog.theeternalportal.com/job-and-jesus-part-2-of-3/ ). Now, in this third (and last) e-mail on Job and Jesus, I would like to focus on their sufferings in order to better understand how to deal with our own.
The biggest difference between Christ’s suffering (on the cross until His death) and Job’s suffering (when he lost all of his children at once) is that Christ’s suffering was wholly voluntary. Job’s was not. Job did not ask for it…he did everything to keep this from happening as he clearly loved his children. He prayed for them, sacrificed for them and did so continually (Job 1:5). Job did everything to avoid his children being hurt. Still, they were all killed. Christ, on the other hand, sacrificed His own life voluntarily by not using His own power to resist the sentence of death by crucifixion. Jesus’s sacrifice of his own body for all of us came at the cost of His voluntary suffering and anguish, similar to but clearly far beyond Job`s suffering.
You might be tempted to think God was cruel to allow the things that happened to Job to happen. Nothing could be further from the truth. The word “cruel” means “willfully causing pain or suffering to others, or feeling no concern about it. “ First, God did not cause Job’s pain, the devil did. Second, God was concerned about that pain and provided Job with the strength he needed to endure his sufferings for his own sake and for the sake of all that would later learn of his worshipful suffering and be blessed by his story. What’s more, God put Himself, through Christ His incarnation, through much worse suffering for our eternal benefit. In other words, God did not put Job through anything, for our sakes, that He Himself was not willing to endure, also for our sakes.
We now benefit from Christ’s and Job’s suffering in that through Christ’s work, death has been conquered (1 Corinthians 15:55, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?“). You now have, if you have the faith to reach out to grasp it, the real hope you need to get through your loss and continue living. I’m convinced that you will be reunited with the loved one you have lost one day! Being able to live on, even to live an inspiring life full of hope, is purely a question of faith.
You may be in a situation now in which you think you may be suffering more than anyone else in this World. I think after contemplating the message of Job’s life, you will know that whatever you are going through, it cannot be compared to what Job or Christ went through. Despite all of the injustice, Job did not for a moment curse God, but instead, maintained his respect for Him. Job’s story challenges us, ordinary men and women not unlike Job, to do the same if we ever find ourselves in a comparable situation. That’s what I find scary. I admire Job and believe that God was pleased with Job’s worship like no other person before him. At the same time, I pray for the grace that I not be tested as Job was!
And consider this: Job’s story is effective today in large part because it is written down in the Bible so that we can read about it, reflect on it and learn from it, knowing that because it’s in the Bible, it’s reliable and trustworthy. Did you have a friend or loved one that passed who had a special story of faith or worship to tell? What would they tell us today if they were still alive? If their life was a testimony, consider taking the time to write their story down somehow. An online memorial is one way to do that. A story of faithfulness to God, like that of Job’s, recorded in an online memorial, could benefit many people, even thousands, in some cases, millions, in the years to come. If you haven’t yet created a memorial to that life of faith, do consider doing so — write about this special person and share it with us via an online memorial so that we can share it with the generations to come! Some of our memorials have had a million visits. I think you know how sharing their story can make a difference in someone’s life. Some of the memorials on our websites have had a profound influence on people even many years after that special person’s life on Earth ended, something we know to be true from the many testimonials that we’ve received from our users. And if you’ve already created a memorial, please do remember to update it with new reflections that can be both edifying and encouraging to future visitors!
May God bless and keep you,
John
