Oscar Winner

Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” Job 1:8 (NIV)

Now there is a scene worthy of an Oscar! God points out someone that He (God) feels is a worthy opponent for satan! Am I worthy opponent for satan? Would God point me out? (I admit that I have mixed emotions as to whether I want Him to do so!)

God says that Job was “blameless”. When I think of the word ‘blameless’, I think of ‘perfect’. When God describes a human, His creation that He KNOWS is sinful, God is NOT thinking ‘perfect’. God is looking at the heart. God is able to see the TRUTH of a person because He knows their heart. Maybe Job did not intentionally go against God’s commands. He had an open, teachable heart.

God says that Job was “upright”. Job was “righteous”. His relationship with God was daily. God knew him AND God says that Job knew HIM well enough to know holy “fear”. Job understood that God was powerful and so like a child who has learned consequences to his actions. Job feared God and turned away from evil. Again, Job’s relationship to God was daily because he had learned to love God and he had learned God’s discipline too. Holy fear.

As I read through the book of Job I realize that Job was certainly not perfect. Job lost – EVERYTHING! (except his less-than-helpful wife!) Job was impatient. I can certainly relate to that and I have not lost all that Job did!

[Job says,] “What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What prospects, that I should be patient? Do I have the strength of stone? Is my flesh bronze? Do I have any power to help myself, now that success has been driven from me?” Job 6:11-13 (NIV)

Job admits that he spoke without understanding God. He says, “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:2-6 (NIV)

Job was considered “blameless” and “upright” by God Himself. Job was not ‘perfect’ by anyone’s standard. Jesus, and only Jesus, is my standard for perfection. He is my goal; my ideal. Jesus teaches me about my relationship with the Father. God gave me Job and David and Peter and Paul and Hannah and Mary(s) as my ‘less-than-perfect’ brothers and sisters who are there also. They teach me about God’s love and forgiveness.

The book of Job is an Oscar-winner for me. It is has a ‘good guy’ and a ‘bad guy’; good and evil. It has a hero. It has love and forgiveness. It even has some ironic comedy in Elihu, Bildad, and Eliphaz. And no matter how many times I ‘see’ it – I learn something new. Best of all, the Good Guy WINS in THE END!