Thursday, May 03, 2007

Day 271..."Three versions of suffering Job...Jeremiah...and Jesus"

Todays three texts all speak of suffering. Job has sunk so low he sees a graveyard instead of hope. Jeremiah relates the suffering to sinfulness and deceit. Paul speaks of the suffering as "working for good" in God's plan. Job and Jeremiah describe agony with the image of fountains of tears. Job weeps for himself. Jeremiah cries for a people gone astray. Paul writes about prayers of groaning. Obviously the Romans words offer the most hope today..."What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, For your sake we are being killed all the day long;we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." How might Job would have benefited if Romans would have been written in his day?

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