Monday October 5th, 2015 Job 1:1;2:1-10
The LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? ?blameless and upright?who fears God and turns away from evil?persists in his integrity." (verse 3)
How could the author of the legend of Job think that God would have such confidence in a sinful human being? After all, Job lost all that was important in his life, and was urged by his wife to curse God and die. Yet “in all this Job did not sin with his lips.” (verse 10) Does God really have such confidence in us?
Look at the people Jesus chose to be his disciples: fishermen, tax collectors and thieves, among others. And then there was Paul, who persecuted the Christians. Only one of these betrayed Jesus. The rest suffered much for the sake of the Christ. And we, as Christians, part of Christ’s body, also struggle and suffer many things, sometimes for the sake of the gospel and sometimes because of the world’s and our own sinfulness.
But we also know that in baptism we have the promise of Christ that he has chosen us, that he is with us always, and that his Holy Spirit is in us to keep us faithful to the end. Yes, God can have confidence in us, because God is faithful.
Gracious God, thank you for giving us the faith we need and for having the confidence that we will not fail. In Jesus' name. Amen. — JCH
Contributed by God’s Confidence
How could the author of the legend of Job think that God would have such confidence in a sinful human being? After all, Job lost all that was important in his life, and was urged by his wife to curse God and die. Yet "in all this Job did not sin with his lips." (verse 10) Does God really have such confidence in us?
Look at the people Jesus chose to be his disciples: fishermen, tax collectors and thieves, among others. And then there was Paul, who persecuted the Christians. Only one of these betrayed Jesus. The rest suffered much for the sake of the Christ. And we, as Christians, part of Christ's body, also struggle and suffer many things, sometimes for the sake of the gospel and sometimes because of the world's and our own sinfulness.
But we also know that in baptism we have the promise of Christ that he has chosen us, that he is with us always, and that his Holy Spirit is in us to keep us faithful to the end. Yes, God can have confidence in us, because God is faithful.
