Friday, April 27: Job 14- Serving and loving God is its own reward.

After reading the chapter my thoughts are all over the place. There was no sweet spot in the chapter for me.

Lord, what part of this word will draw me to You? I sit still.  I wonder. I ponder Your servant Job. He has faith in You, truly uncompromising faith in You. He does so, it seems to me, without an understanding of life everlasting.

But a man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last and is no more. As the water of a lake dries up or a riverbed becomes parched and dry, so he lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, people will not awake or be roused from their sleep (10-12). That last clause, I guess, leaves open the possibility of an afterlife; it is certainly not a clear endorsement of such. And the entire tenor of his words seems to infer a belief that once in the grave that is it for a person.

If I am reading Job correctly he has incredible faith in God without any hope of ultimate redemption, which is all the more amazing to me. I know we all see through a glass dimly (1Cor 13:12) and none of us understands perfectly. Missing eternal life is a pretty big miss and still he is faithful.

I am encouraged by Job and the thought that serving and loving the Lord is its own reward… eternal life and other blessings are icing on the cake.

Lord God, thank You for You. I love You for who You are. Bless and praise You, Lord. Through Christ, my Lord, I pray. Amen.