Job knows one thing for certain, God is sovereign. His ways are more inscrutable than even Job
knows. As we know, the Lord allowed
satan to do these things to Job and we can assume only that there was something
in it for Job's good. Job certainly
doesn't see it at the moment though. There
is a sense of God's capriciousness and purposelessness in his words. God can do as He pleases and no one can know
why He does these things. When we look
at suffering and tragedy in this world it does seem incredibly senseless to us
and we look to God and ask why this is so and how He can possibly countenance
it. When we do, we are called to
yesterday's Gospel lesson, the Beatitudes.
When we see this and think thus, we are sharing in God's grief over the
way things are. We know that in some
instances in this life people have to hit rock bottom before they can see that change
is necessary. I believe God looks at us
in this same way as a whole. The hope of
the world is bound up in one sinner repenting and becoming part of the plan of
the redemption of the world. The conversion
of the church to see and pray, thy kingdom come, and to work for it in our
lives and in the world is the thing that brings a smile to God's face. It isn't Him who is unjust, it is us.
Our refusal to accept the evidence set before us cannot be
blamed on God. These have seen and heard
plenty enough to come to believe and yet they refuse for ridiculous reasons,
beginning with believing they know where Jesus was born and ending with His
failure to do what they want Him to do. It
is only when we can lay aside our own agendas and desires and say, thy will be
done, on earth and in my life, that we are able to come to faith. So long as we insist on our terms and our
will being done, we will never see or enter the kingdom of God. We are all like the rich young ruler in this
way, we are clinging to either our kingdom or the hope of our kingdom too
tightly to appreciate and receive His kingdom.
Jesus says the way out is simple, abide in His word and you will know
the truth and the truth will set you free.
Look up.
The disciples from Jerusalem began to flee the persecution
there from the Jews and as they went, they began to evangelize among the Jews
where they went. Some, however, from
Cyprus and Cyrene, who were, perhaps, more accustomed to living and working
with non-Jewish peoples, who spoke of Jesus also to these others, and found
among them receptivity to the Gospel in Antioch. The church in Jerusalem determined to send
Barnabas, the encourager, to see what was going on there and he remembered
Saul, the man for whom he had vouched for earlier, and went to Tarsus, Paul's
hometown, retrieved him and brought him here to teach and disciple this Gentile
community of believers. God began to
work out His plan for Paul's life. We don't know how long elapsed between Acts
9, Paul's conversion, and now in Acts 11 but I wonder if Paul thought God had
forgotten him there in Tarsus. God's
plan always awaits His timing.
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