This morning I was up early grading a students work on Genesis. So far I haven't gotten any farther than chapter two. I have been so floored by what I'm seeing in God's character through Genesis 1 and 2. The trip wire for my thinking this morning is this "God let Adam name the animals." I started thinking about that, and it began to occur to me that this one fact reveals the character of God in unimaginably awesome ways. It goes beyond this one fact though. The story continues and we see that God created this fine world, this good world, and then put mankind in the middle of it and told them to "subdue" it.
Here's whats jumping out at me today. God creates this AWESOME world, a world that he's thrilled with. A world full of all sorts of crazy plants ad animals, and then he lets man, a young man, a new man, begin assigning lasting names to them all. Here's what hes saying essentially... "heres my awesome world, now have at it, make it your own." I think this is what God means when he says, "subdue and have dominion" over the Earth.
God does not say "heres my perfect world, ITS PERFECT! so try not to wreck anything."..which is probably what I would have said. No, God knew that there would be some wreckage involved, but he still handed us the keys...and not reluctantly either! He handed us the keys to His world with joy, knowing that one day Michael Angelo would turn a cold block of marble into a masterpiece the world would marvel at forever...and the coolest thing is that God saw that coming...he saw it coming and was excited about it...and is still excited about it...the creative potential of mankind is miraculous, because it comes from a miraculous God in whos image we are made...and praise Him that he lets us learn to paint with beauty on the canvas of his wonderful creation, even when it means we're going to make a mess sometimes .
1/26/10
1/2/10
Job: answers aren't enough
so catchy titles aside, there's some goodness here for anyone who's interested in digging for it. Here's what I mean. the book of Job, in my opinion, is one of the greatest masterpieces of wisdom literature ever produced. From the vivid imagery and poetic beauty right down to the heart of the meaning of the book, its worth every bit of your time and will certainly reward the serious student!
At first glance Job is a book about a guy who questions God during hard times, and who receives all kinds of bad advice from well intentioned friends. It is that, and so much more. As a theodicy, we see Job putting God on trial, questioning his ways, and even accusing Him of injustice. As you think about it though, it is even more a book about God putting man on trial. The prologue tells us that Job's troubles came to him because Satan accused God of receiving devotion simply because of the blessings his followers receive. The trials Job endures were given to him in this sense to put him on trial in front of the court of heaven...and to prove to Satan that man (at least one man) will love God for God alone, and not for His blessings. Wow. Interestingly, Job's friends, and Job to a lesser extent, see the trials as an indication and result of Job's failures and sin in God's eyes. The prologue tells us the opposite. Job's trials came to him, and not to his neighbor, precisely because of his ability to handle them and prove Satan's accusations wrong. God knew that Job would love Him for Him alone, and not just for his blessings. thats some deep water if you ask me.
Another thing to consider when reading is this: Job spends a lot of time looking for a reason for why he has suffered so much. He never really gets one. We, as readers have priviledged information from the narrator. We have the back-story, Job has none of that. All he knows is that his life has fallen apart, and it doesnt seem to be a result of anything he's done. Interestingly, and importantly, God, in his response to Job's questions, never fully explains the backstory to him. God never gives job a full understanding of why his troubles came. In this sense, God doesnt answer the "why" question Job is asking. At least not the way Job wants him to answer it. Instead, God goes deeper, into the heart of the matter, and shows Job that for him at least, the "why did this happen" questions are rooted in pride and a position of feeling as though Job himself knows how to run the universe, and certainly the events of his own life, more proficiently than God. This is the real issue at stake. Its bigger than Job's circumstances. For Job, the challenge is to submit to God and admit that His ways and wisdom far exceed his own. In this sense, having precise and reasonable answers for Job's suffering wont really solve his issue. His peace comes as he submits to God's authority and wisdom, admitting that even if "answers" dont come, God is worthy to be worshiped, and his ways are right and true. This is where Job lands, and this revelation comes to him before his life is repaired....wait a minute...maybe we should say that it was precisely this revelation that WAS the repair that needed to take place, even more so than the physical restoration that would follow....and the coolest thing of it all...the thing that makes me want to just yell yeah God...is that God knew the end from the beginning. He knew that Job would be repaired in this area. He knew Job would submit and love God even when answers dont come..remember, the prologue tells us thats precisely why Job was chosen in the first place.
What can I say...God really does know the end from the beginning. He has no counselor. His ways are far above and beyond our own, and He is worthy of our worship even when, especially when, answers aren't enough.
At first glance Job is a book about a guy who questions God during hard times, and who receives all kinds of bad advice from well intentioned friends. It is that, and so much more. As a theodicy, we see Job putting God on trial, questioning his ways, and even accusing Him of injustice. As you think about it though, it is even more a book about God putting man on trial. The prologue tells us that Job's troubles came to him because Satan accused God of receiving devotion simply because of the blessings his followers receive. The trials Job endures were given to him in this sense to put him on trial in front of the court of heaven...and to prove to Satan that man (at least one man) will love God for God alone, and not for His blessings. Wow. Interestingly, Job's friends, and Job to a lesser extent, see the trials as an indication and result of Job's failures and sin in God's eyes. The prologue tells us the opposite. Job's trials came to him, and not to his neighbor, precisely because of his ability to handle them and prove Satan's accusations wrong. God knew that Job would love Him for Him alone, and not just for his blessings. thats some deep water if you ask me.
Another thing to consider when reading is this: Job spends a lot of time looking for a reason for why he has suffered so much. He never really gets one. We, as readers have priviledged information from the narrator. We have the back-story, Job has none of that. All he knows is that his life has fallen apart, and it doesnt seem to be a result of anything he's done. Interestingly, and importantly, God, in his response to Job's questions, never fully explains the backstory to him. God never gives job a full understanding of why his troubles came. In this sense, God doesnt answer the "why" question Job is asking. At least not the way Job wants him to answer it. Instead, God goes deeper, into the heart of the matter, and shows Job that for him at least, the "why did this happen" questions are rooted in pride and a position of feeling as though Job himself knows how to run the universe, and certainly the events of his own life, more proficiently than God. This is the real issue at stake. Its bigger than Job's circumstances. For Job, the challenge is to submit to God and admit that His ways and wisdom far exceed his own. In this sense, having precise and reasonable answers for Job's suffering wont really solve his issue. His peace comes as he submits to God's authority and wisdom, admitting that even if "answers" dont come, God is worthy to be worshiped, and his ways are right and true. This is where Job lands, and this revelation comes to him before his life is repaired....wait a minute...maybe we should say that it was precisely this revelation that WAS the repair that needed to take place, even more so than the physical restoration that would follow....and the coolest thing of it all...the thing that makes me want to just yell yeah God...is that God knew the end from the beginning. He knew that Job would be repaired in this area. He knew Job would submit and love God even when answers dont come..remember, the prologue tells us thats precisely why Job was chosen in the first place.
What can I say...God really does know the end from the beginning. He has no counselor. His ways are far above and beyond our own, and He is worthy of our worship even when, especially when, answers aren't enough.
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