Pre-Law Observations from Job

In recent years I have made a habit of reading through the Bible every year in a different translation.  I fully expect by the end of this year to know the Word better and yet to have just scratched the surface of what this treasured book has to say.

Take Job, for instance.  I have read through this book a number of times and even felt like I lived it for a season in my life.  As I was reading yesterday, He reminded me of something I saw brand new in 2012.

Last year, as the Lord began to connect my heart and my mind to His in regard to orphans, I saw how His reflections of Himself over time (creation, Israel, Jesus, the church) also included His heart for widows, orphans, sojourners (also called foreigners, aliens, strangers), and the poor (more specifically, for those who were poor because of injustice).  I wrote about this in more detail in the post entitled "4 Reflections of God's Care for Orphans."

Back to Job, which Bible scholars believe may have been the first book written.  The person Job is believed to have existed during the time of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob).  That is, before God gave the law to Moses.  Before He commanded His people to care for widows, orphans, sojourners, and the poor.  Yet, we find the following statements from Job as he defends his integrity (from the baseless accusations of a "friend" in Job 22:5-11) before his friends and before God in Job 29-31:

• "When they (the noblemen of Job's city) heard me, they blessed me, and when they saw me, they spoke well of me, for I rescued the poor man who cried out for help, and the fatherless child who had no one to support him.  The dying man blessed me, and I made the widow's heart rejoice" (Job 29:11-13, HCSB).
• "I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame.  I was a father to the needy, and I examined the case of the stranger.  I shattered the fangs of the unjust and snatched the prey from his teeth" (Job 29:15-17).
• "If I have refused the wishes of the poor or let the widow’s eyes go blind, if I have eaten my few crumbs alone for from my youth, I raised him as his father,and since the day I was born I guided the widow— if I have seen anyone dying for lack of clothing or a needy person without a cloak, if he did not bless me while warming himself with the fleece from my sheep, if I ever cast my vote against a fatherless child when I saw that I had support in the city gate, then let my shoulder blade fall from my back, and my arm be pulled from its socket" (Job 31:16-22).
• "Haven’t the members of my household said, 'Who is there who has not had enough to eat at Job’s table?'  No stranger had to spend the night on the street, for I opened my door to the traveler" (Job 31:31-32).

How did Job know that caring for the voiceless was just and right?  Were compassion and hospitality just intuitive to him?  Evidently, on the basis of the accusations of his friend and of the noblemen of Job's town, justice for the defenseless was a widely-recognized indicator of righteousness -- even before the Law.  I'm not sure how God revealed this to them, but it was obvious that He did in some way.

Nothing has changed.  The Bible never backs away from the call to be a voice for the voiceless.  If anything, that call is intensified throughout Scripture.  And though I trust in the redemptive work of Christ (and not good works) for my salvation, I want to be a good reflector of the nature of God to those who don't know Him.  Don't you?  Kindness to widows, orphans, strangers, and the poor is still a remarkable indicator to those far from God.

Thanks for reading.

4theVoiceless,

Al

Resolutions Unmade?

Are New Year's resolutions a thing of the past?  I have asked several people if they made them, and I have yet to have anyone answer affirmatively.  I have seen some new faces in the gym, but, as a whole, I wonder if we just pass on the resolutions these days.

Is it because we know we are going to break them and so we don't make them?  I tend to think it is because we just don't slow down long enough to consider where we are in life, how we got there, and what it will take to get us where we want to go.  Am I right?

A Few of Mine

I made a few resolutions this year.  I'll share some of them:

• I read through the entire Bible for the second year in a row in 2012.  I have already started a different reading plan in a different version for 2013. 
• Discipleship is a top priority.  What I have learned about God is not just for me -- not even especially for me -- but for the sake of the kingdom of Christ, for others.
• I am going back to school this year.  I consider myself a lifelong learner, but it has been over 10 years since I have actually been in school and even longer since I last took an academic class.
• I am going back to Haiti and investing in one of the children at the House of Abraham on a monthly basis.
• I'm not good at keeping tabs on all the maintenance needs of my vehicles.  I do have an iPhone with a really cool feature: a calendar with reminders that I can use to remind me of something I wouldn't just naturally move toward without them.
• I plan to read more.  And go to bed earlier.  There's a correlation. 

What About You?

There are more, but you get the picture.  Have you slowed down enough to consider adjustments that you need to make in your life?  Will you go on that first mission trip this year or start that blog or go on that first daddy-daughter date?  What are those good intentions that will remain just that until you determine to act on them?

Good intentions tend to lead to what my friend Jacob refers to as "rollover days," when one day begins to look like the one before and the one before that.  Good intentions just lie on the table until they become regrets of what could have been. 

Here are a few simple suggestions to get you on track to breaking away from the rollover days.  I'll start with the hardest one for most people. 

1. Schedule some time alone -- 30 minutes, a couple of hours, a long weekend.  Be really alone.  Turn off the phone!
2. Pray.  God knows much better than you do what adjustments your life needs.
3. Journal.  Write it down.  Start with random thoughts and then go about processing them into an action plan.
4. Get started.  However small your initial steps are, start moving.  Begin with the end in mind, but know that you won't get there immediately.  (I fully expect to finish reading through the Bible again this year, but right now I am still in Genesis and Job.  Revelation won't come until the end of the year.)

Thanks for reading.  I would be very interested to hear what resolutions you have already made for 2013 and the ones that you make as a result of spending some time alone in the next few days.

4theVoiceless,
Al

What I Read vs. What I See

I spent about an hour in conversation with a friend yesterday.  It was one of those conversations with more questions than answers.  He is a fairly new believer in Christ (a few years), one who immediately after his conversion set out to learn the Word of God.  His questions could be rolled up into one question that we should all consider:  Why does the Christianity of my experience not look like what I read in the Bible?

The easy answer would have been, "Come to my church!"  He might indeed come, and I hope he finds more similarities than differences between the Christians in our church and the Christians in the Bible.  Our pastor at CHC is currently going through a series called HYPOChrIsTianE, a challenge to the church to more accurately reflect the object of our worship, Jesus Christ, to a world that largely does not follow Him.

Within the specific scope of this blog, however, I want to point out the huge chasm between what the Bible says about caring for the orphan and what we, as churches in the wealthiest nation in the world, are doing.  Imagine what happens when a maturing believer like my friend reads the Old Testament and sees the heart of God for the voiceless (the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, and the poor) and then compares it to the normal American church experience, where the orphan is rarely, if ever, mentioned.  His resulting questions are legitimate.

good news to GOOD NEWS

The good news is that more and more churches are re-awakening to this ancient command to care for orphans.  Orphan Sunday is November 4, and more churches than ever before are doing something to raise awareness of the world's orphan crisis.

Even better -- that good news is a pointing finger toward the Good News.  Orphan care -- adoption in particular -- so beautifully and accurately reflects the gospel.  Consider:

1.  God created man.
  

•      God created every child who is an orphan.

2.  Man fell.
  

•      Some result of the fall led to every orphan's status as an orphan.

3.  God redeemed man back to Himself.  Man was in desperate need of rescue, a spiritual orphan.  Man had nothing to offer God.  Despite all this, God made a way for man to be reconciled to Him through His Son, Jesus Christ.  He gives those who follow Him help for today and hope for tomorrow.

•      Orphans are among the weakest and most vulnerable of God's creation.  They seldom have anything to offer, only needs, yet some believers move toward them and give them hope and a future.

4.  God adopted us into the family of believers.  He is our Father, Jesus is our older brother, and the church is made up of our spiritual brothers and sisters.

•      Adoption provides a home for an orphan, often with father, mother, sisters, and brothers.

A Living Example of the Gospel

So what is our response to someone like my friend who sees the gap between what the Bible says and what he sees lived out in the church?  What about, "Let me show you."  Make sure you don't have to look far.

Thanks for reading. Now, move.
Al

Random add-on:  Passion for the writing of this post was enhanced greatly by Phil Wickham's "You're Beautiful."