Study from God’s Word… Job, Chapters 11 – 14 … Passage for Reflection: Job 14: 14 – 15 … NIV 14 If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come. 15 You will call and I will answer you; you will long for the creature your hands have made.
My Journal for Today: The date cries out death to all who remember those bodies flying out of those burning Trade Center windows on this fateful date. And for a few months thereafter the churches were filled with many who had not graced the pews of God’s houses as they finally had to look into the mirror of their own mortality, facing the inevitable … that we only have one life to live in this world. And many people who had not wanted to contemplate this stark reality were finally jolted, by 9/11, out of their states of denial and into a hopeful longing that there might be something after the grave; and perhaps “the church” might be the place to find that hope.
But then again, after another few months past, the very human condition of pride and personal denial set back in; and the people drifted back into their comfort zone of denial and defensiveness; and the church attendance drifted back to the same levels as before 9/11. Wow; even 9/11 could not jolt the collective consciousness of the human mind who just doesn’t want to face what Job was facing in his troubles and from the sanctimonious teachings of his friends.
Yes, when we face the stench or the sight of death head-on, we’re forced to look at life and ponder the after-life in a different way. Someone who reads this may have heard that horrible 9/11-type pronouncement … “CANCER!” And all of a sudden the very real possibility that this life may be winding down to its end is right there in front of us. But the reality is that you or I may not live until tomorrow; and really, every day we ought to be contemplating the questions in today’s text, raised by Job before God.
And my friend, I hope you’ve answered those questions with another stark reality, which is what Jesus Christ did for all of us on that cross on Calvary; and what God did, in raising our Lord from the grave to show us victory over death, sin, and destruction in our lives. And think of that last pronouncement of Job’s to his God: You will call and I will answer you; you will long for the creature your hands have made.
One day, God will call us out of this life … to be with Him … or NOT! And we know from God’s word (remember Christ’s parable of the prodigal) that God waits longingly for those of us who’ve repented of our sin to come home to Him. Yes, we, who believe in Christ, don’t have to worry about some 9/11 in our lives, do we? God is waiting for me, and prayerfully, you … lovingly and longingly! What a thought that is; and it tempers the realities and the pains of anything this life might involve; … yes, even 9/11 disasters. Oh, how I pray that any 9/11 moment in your life will simply remind you of a loving Father waiting for you with His open arms, even running to you to embrace His child for eternity.
My Prayer for Today: Oh, Lord, it may be 9/11; but You wait for all who know You as Lord and Savior. Amen
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