I am enrolled in a paper at Uni this semester that is proving to be a real challenge in many ways. I enrolled in it thinking it would be really interesting and it wasn't until the first lecture that its full title came to my attention; God, Suffering and Justice in the Hebrew Scriptures. Now this has caused me somewhat of a headache as the weeks have progressed. If we are only looking at the Hebrew scriptures we cannot take into account the New Testament. We cannot bring Jesus the Messiah into our thinking and there is a real sense for me in which I feel like I'm only watching the first half of a movie and being asked to draw my conclusions from that. It is proving to be quite difficult.
I am currently researching my second assignment which is about the legal motif in the book of Job and in the face of the Holocaust is it justifiable to even try and justify the goodness of God.
My head is full! One thing I have come to learn is that there is much mystery in life. I don't have all the answers (and neither does anyone else). We must some how come to terms with the unanswered questions and let them drive us towards God, rather than away. If we let them drive us away from God we are far less likely to ever discover the answers to the deep painful questions we are asking.
I have been quite captured by a statement Bill Johnson (senior pastor of Bethel Church, Redding, CA) made after his father died. He basically said that in that moment he realised he had the opportunity to give God a praise offering that he could only give, this side of eternity. Grief and loss and pain is only experienced this side of heaven. In heaven there is no pain, no loss, no grief and so this was a moment where he could offer something incredibly sacred and precious. Did he still grieve for his dad, sure, what son wouldn't? But he refused to allow the loss he felt to separate him from God, allowing it instead to draw him in closer.
I'm not sure I will be able to give my lecturer a satisfactory answer, but I know that despite the lack of understanding I have at times and the questions I have yet to answer, that God is good, he is loving and he has broad enough shoulders to take our questions, our pain and yes even our accusations against his character. Job questioned, Job challenged and God engaged with Job.
I pray that I might find the strength and grace to present an offering of Praise even in the midst of my darkest days.
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1 comment:
I've been thinking about this a fair bit lately. It's not easy when people you know and love are going through suffering and you do ask "why?". Sometimes people saying "we can't understand God's ways" or "it's God's will" isn't enough or even seems patronising. I think asking these questions can help release anger that may be built up in these times.
In regards to your assignment Job is a tough read when you're looking at "the goodness of God". I think the first thing you have to look at is what is Gods goodness. If you look at the creation story God says of his creation that it's "good". I think this means that it is made just as it was intended to be and fits it's purpose. The bible doesn't say, "and God said that's a pretty flower and smells nice", it says he said it was good (creation in a general sense), it was made just as he intended and fit its purpose. What does this have to do with Job?? If you're looking at the goodness of God in Job i think you have to look at the intention of God. You also have to remember that God doesn't jump into save people just because they're having a hard time. It's a bit hypocritical when people say "why didn't God stop this from happenin?" and you ask them if they would like God to control every part of their life they say "of course not". The fact is they want one of the greatest things he gave us, free will.
Bad things will always happen, how we live our lives is determined by our response to our circumstances, not the circumstances themselves. If you want to see the goodness of God, the intention of God, you won't find it at the start of Job, you won't find it in the middle of Job, you will find it at the end.
Sorry for the long post, I'm no biblical scholar, I've done a bit of study so i hope i've helped...which i'm not sure i have lol. Anyway, good luck with the assignment!!
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