I was slow-reading the book of Job from the Old Testalemt recently and was struck by a realization that I find fascinating. When Job was suffering and when his three “friends” were there debating him and accusing him. Job and all his friends were actually trying to make sense of their reality. Why were these series of tragedies happening to Job?
Both Job and his friends had thought they understood reality and life. But Job was smacked in the face with someting horrific that did not fit his understanding of life at all. A few of his friends were essentially insisting they still understood and were then accusing Job according to that understanding.
But as good as friends arguments and reasonsings and logic and eloquate debate were. Job’s friends did not know somethng that Job knew. And all four of them did not know something that God and Satan knew about the situation. The narrative of God drawing the attention of Satan onto Job and Satan then accusing him and then getting permission to torment him, were unknown realities to Job and his friends at the time.
Reality is what it is, and the best we can do is try to make sense of it. That is what much of this book of Job is about. Four rich, powerful and good men (plus one youth), trying to understand and explain reality.
I have made it one of my life’s ambitions and personal ministries to explain reality to those around me. On every level I am driven and motivated to both understand reality and help explain it to others. Scientific reality, emotional relational reality, political and geopolitical realities and most importantly spiritual reality.
Science and Reality
Toward explaining reality the learning method we call science has a role in explaining portions of reality. Although I think science is given more credit than it deservies, I love science, I do it daily at work and have a science degree.
Historically what is called scientific knowledge has changed over time, ALOT. The things we learn from science are later understood deeper by continued science. Or sometimes undone by actual science done well, after the ulterior motives are exposed and removed. Hypotheses are refuted or strengthened and tweaked from yesterday for something that tracks better with truth.
The Many Layers of Reality
So the fascinating things that we gradually understand via science are just one of many layers of reality. Importnat layers that should be understood but just a few of the many layers of reality for us to understand.
When Job’s friends were arguing and accusing much of what they were saying was true. Was accurate theologically, much had to do with the law of reaping and sowing. The problem was that it just didn’t apply to this situation. Job was not reaping what he sewed when his wealth was consumed with fire from heaven. When all his children were killed by a sudden and massive storm, and then when his body became infected with painful black boils. His suffering was not a consequence of his sin. Job knew that deep within, but his friends assumed it must be the case and increasingly accused him unjustly.
There was what I call a layer of reality that they did not understand nor realize was affecting his situation.
Sometimes we can only comprehend and deal with our realities, situations and circumstances with faith. Confident trust in the Lord who has access to us and our situation that we do not. We can even begin to comprehend and enlighten our spiritual reality by faith and by being trained to interact with God through the Spirit of Christ.
There was a layer of reality that they did not understand and that was the law of suffering brought about by the fall and by the takeover that Satan was able to do at the fall of Adam.
God schooled everyone listening about this layer of reality which we know as unjust suffering. Jesus Christ later elaborated on this law and displayed perfect submission to it. The suffering messiah as laser predicted in the book of Isaiah.
But there was something else going on with his situation. And we the readers are given insight into this something else in the first two chapters.
Fast forward to today I think it is important for the Christian, espeically ones who teach other Christians, to understand this layer of reality, this law of unjust suffering and its link to Jesus Christ and living the life of Jesus Christ. I hear young preachers preach like Job’s friends. Not comprehending the law of suffering and persecution and the cross that Jesus expects us to pick up daily and carry. Sometimes we are called to carry the very thing that will afflict us. That is not heresy and that is part of our realities. It is a part of the discipleship that the Spirit of Jesus is bringing to us.
