TO HIS FACE

Jesus responded, “The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.”

Several years ago I was using the facilities at a movie theater. A man was washing his hands as I entered. It became readily apparent he was intoxicated. He stumbled over to the paper towel dispenser and grabbed the towels with his wet hands. The paper disintegrated. He tried repeatedly to pull the paper from the dispenser, but his attempts were futile. Eventually, the man looked up to heaven and emphatically slurred, "Why are you f#@*% with my life!!!"

In meditating on various translations of the Bible or even listening to Christian music, one can often distinguish subtle nuances, which forsake the intended meaning and message of the Bible. One example is from a popular song:

Blessed be the name of the LORD,

Blessed be your glorious name,

You give and take away,

You give and take away,

My heart will choose to say,

Blessed be the name of the LORD.

These lyrics seem loosely based on Job 1:20-23. What Job actually said was:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart, the LORD gave (past tense) and the LORD has taken away (past tense), may the name of the LORD be praised.”

Contrary to the lyrics, Job did NOT say “the Lord gives and takes away.” Job’s immediate response to catastrophe was worship. In light of the fact we are entitled to NOTHING but the consequences of our sin, the appropriate response in every circumstance is always worship.

God graciously blessed Job with faith, family, flocks, cattle, joy, laughter, and lavish abundance. None was deserved or demanded. “Naked I came… naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away, may the name of the LORD be praised.”

Within moments, Job realized he'd lost virtually EVERYTHING: children, flocks, cattle, and all his worldly possessions. Job had no retirement account, no IRA, no social security, and no unemployment office to visit. Yet Scripture tells us when faced with this catastrophic realization, his knee-jerk response was worship: “Job fell to the ground in worship and said, ‘Naked I came… naked I will depart…’”

Job understood we come into the world with nothing to call our own except sin. Sin and its eternal consequences were the sum of what Job knew he was entitled to. Somewhere along the way God blessed Job with the gift of faith, i.e. the fear of the LORD and the knowledge of God (see Proverbs 2:3-8).

Job’s response was not in light of some future guarantee of restoration of material, financial, or emotional status. His authentic response stemmed from recognizing the present and eternal reality of his unmerited, reconciled and redeemed relationship with God Almighty.

It would be a false reading of Scripture to surmise the LORD gives and takes away; suggesting God guarantees material or physical restoration after disaster and sufferings. The Bible doesn’t teach or preach prosperity gospel. Those who do are liars and false shepherds. God deals with them accordingly. Instead, Scripture teaches us that God has already given us everything in Himself, and already taken away our sin - and we deserve none of it. Our desire is either for transient, eroding, decaying material blessings or for Him.

“Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

-Matthew 6:24

God is not the one who snatches up our good things, causes catastrophes, destroys relationships, wrecks lives, or creates havoc. That’s our adversary's role. Satan does it in an effort to get us to curse God (Job 1:11; 2:5). Apparently, Satan's tactics are working exquisitely. According to some recent studies, less than 30% of Americans believe Satan is real.

When Job said, “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away” (both in past tense), Job was prophetically anticipating and agreeing with future revelation (see Revelation 13:8, and 1 Peter 1:20).

Jesus truly is the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the cosmos. Before Genesis 1:1 ever happened, before God created the heavens and the earth, Jesus had already reconciled to give us everything in Himself, and had already committed to taking away what we never could - sin.

At the onset of the story, unbeknownst to Job, there was a battle going on behind the scenes. In Job 2:5 Satan discloses his ultimate objective for causing grief and pain: so that, "he (Job) will surely curse you (God) to your face!"

We tend to live our lives with complete autonomy. We believe the ads that tell us, "Have it your way," and "You deserve it!" Then, when the consequences of our fateful decisions catch up, when tragedy strikes, when we experience loss, insecurity, anxiety, depression, or discomfort - when the good things we never deserved in the first place are broken and destroyed as a result of autonomy, deception, and sin - then we (like the drunkard in the public restroom desperately grasping at paper towels with wet hands) scream to heaven, "Why are you f#@*% with my life!!!"

Unlike Job, our knee-jerk response is rarely worship in spirit and truth. Instead, it typically unveils our feelings of entitlement. Are we truly those who worship in spirit and truth -or- have we fallen victim to Satan's pathetic schemes and unwittingly curse God to His face?

Blessings,

-Kevin M. Kelley

aMostUnlikelyDisiciple.com

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