Job's Question
Originally scheduled for June 11
"In truth I know that this is so; But how can a man be in the
right before God?
(Job 9:2 NASB)
Have you ever been in
the situation where you felt you just needed to talk to the man in
charge and plead your case? Maybe you wouldn’t win, but at least
you’d be heard. But usually the man in charge is so high up the
ladder your chances are no good at all. Now you know how Job felt.
He has the added difficulty that the man in charge — God Almighty —
has certain requirements for admission into his courtroom. In
particular, you must be “righteous.” That’s a big requirement when
you’re talking about the creator of the universe, as Job goes on to
demonstrate the rest of this chapter. So how do we do this?
The solutions proposed are many and various, but mankind has brought
forth two that typically come up in every religion.
·
First, there is some method of offering the sacrifice to sooth the
God of the universe. In Job’s case that one doesn’t apply here, but
we use it a lot.
· The
other method is to become one of the righteous people in our own
eyes. We join the “good guy” club. Good guys have to follow stricter
rules, and we are very inventive about those rules.
It comes down
to the Pharisee and the tax collector. We can either admit that we
are sinners (which disqualifies us) or say that were better than
somebody else. This may in fact be true; it isn’t righteousness. At
best it puts us at the top of the miserable sinners list.
Communion demonstrates God’s solution to the problem. Only he can
provide the perfect sacrifice of atonement; only Christ is “good
enough.” That’s the first step. The next step is you accepting his
offer. You have to acknowledge that you are a sinner in need of a
Savior and welcome his grace into your life.
After that, you are
to regularly remember that sacrifice – in communion. We remember
that the bread represents Christ’s body, torn for us. We remember
that the cup represents his blood, shed for us. So it is that we
remember God’s way of having us stand before him, righteous at His
expense. Remember what he has done for you, and partake in a worthy
manner.
