Dearest e-votees-
Day thirty-seven of our cover to cover voyage through the Bible. If you want to see the readings for our trip through the Bible you can follow this link:
Peace,
Karl
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Day 37 Readings: Job 8:1-24:25
Today we get into Job in earnest. Job has lost most of his possessions, most of his family and most of his health. His "friends" come on the scene. For the first week they do well sitting shiva (being present with the one who is mourning and not speaking until being spoken to). Job opens his mouth and curses the day he was born (at the end of yesterday's reading). Now his "friends" start weighing in. They weigh in by heaping judgment and abuse upon Job. Surely things like this don't just happen to holy people was the gist of what they said. But, in this case, that is just what happened. Job continues to protest his innocence and cry out to God. Job's "friends" are relentless.
Perhaps one of the most important lessons from Job is that people who are hurting and down need love and compassion more than our judgments of what they have done wrong. If they have done wrong they usually are painfully self-aware. Our condemnation doesn't do much for freeing them. It may well be, as was Job's situation, that he was being falsely accused by people who thought they were in the know. We would do well to avoid being on the wrong side of a falsely accusing finger. Bottom line, God is more than capable of judging--our task is to be loving. If we forget what that looks like we can look to the life and death of Jesus. And if we want to see if God approves of such a ministry of love and reconciliation we can look to the empty tomb!
God, spare us from suffering by your mercy. When suffering comes help us to bear up well and faithfully. When we see others suffering help us love them. When we suffer help us receive the love of others even when less than perfectly executed. Amen.
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