February 18, 2013

Job 32-34

Elihu is a fourth friend of Job. He is younger than the other three, and has been listening to the arguments back and forth before he speaks. He is respectful, and he is the only one of Job’s friends that God does not rebuke or refute. In Job 34:37 is the heart of Elihu’s commentary to Job “For you have added rebellion to your sin; you show no respect, and you speak many angry words against God.” It seems that Elihu names the sin that Job is ultimately guilty of – exalting himself to be equal with God – rebellion.

In the news this morning are two tragic stories – the shooting death of Reeva Steenkamp, the girlfriend of Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee who was an Olympic track star who is accused of murder, though he claims it was mistaken identity of an intruder.

The second story is the suicide death of country singer Mindy McCready. She has struggled with personal demons for a long time. Her boyfriend died of a gunshot on her front porch last month, and she was questioned as a suspect, his death is still under investigation. She recently fought for custody of her 6 year old son.

From Job to the morning news, people struggle with suffering and the search for meaning in life. If only everyone would trust God the way Job did, even though he exalted himself, he eventually repented and was blessed by God. Listening to the recent interviews with Mindy McCready I could imagine the missing part of her life was a surrender to God and a willingness to discover the meaning of her life in the context of God’s will and purposes.

The church continues to have a vital role as leaven in society – as Philip brought Nathanael to Jesus, so a vital authentic congregation of believers should be available to all troubled people who could find hope for daily living. My challenge as a pastor is to lead and equip such a church and inspire many other faith communities. This is a continual process, of each day, each week, each year being faithful and open to God's spirit in order to represent Christ in the culture and provide a healthy body of unselfish, outwardly focused disciples just like Philip!

Guide me today, Holy Lord on this national holiday, president's day. Guide my writing of the newsletter article, guide my preparation for the Wednesday evening life group as I continue to extend invitations. Guide my thinking, my planning, my rest and my recreation, even as this throat seems to be housing an incipient cold. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.