Author: Bethany Jenkins

Relevant Text: Job 1:21
Full Text: Job 1; Rom. 5

Tension | In February 2006, six weeks after her daughter, Penny, was born with Down syndrome, Amy Julia Becker journaled:  “I went to the doctor for a follow-up appointment today. The receptionist was very nice. She told me about a good friend of hers who has a daughter with Down syndrome. The young woman is in her mid-20s, with a job, with highlights in her hair. I think the receptionist was trying to comfort me by giving an example of how functional someone with Down syndrome can be, but her words betrayed her. She said things like, ‘They dress her in cute, funky clothes,’ and, ‘She can walk around the neighborhood all by herself and the neighbors keep an eye on her.’ What I heard was not that she wears cute clothes and goes for walks, but that her mom still chooses those clothes, she can’t drive, and she needs the neighbors to look out for her on a walk around the block. I didn’t feel particularly consoled. People are always trying to downplay the hard part and overemphasize the good instead of letting the tension remain” [1].

Limitations | Job is about letting the tension remain. It’s written for people who struggle with loss. It’s realistic about confusion in suffering and limits in understanding. Although Job “feared God and turned away from evil” [2], he lost everything – his family and his wealth – in a single day. Yet, even as he mourned: “Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head” [3], he also worshiped: “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” [4].

Honesty | Suffering is universal, but sometimes we’re tempted to avoid admitting that it brings doubt, fear and anger. We want our praise nights to be pep rallies. A realistic understanding of the Christian life, however, includes a recognition that the founder of our faith was “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” [5] and that, if we want to be glorified with him, we must also suffer with him [6].

Prayer | Lord, Make your name holy in our lives, as we walk in your footsteps. Let us live in the tension of the suffering of the cross as well as the joy of our salvation through it [7]. Help us to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice [8], even as we learn to love others in grace and honesty. Amen.

Relevant Text: Esth. 9:1
Full Text: Esth. 9-10; Rom. 4

The Gallows | “On the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, the reverse occurred: the Jews gained mastery over those who hated them” [1]. Haman’s plot against Mordecai was foiled. He was supposed to be exalted and Mordecai was supposed to be dead. Instead, Mordecai was honored and Haman was hanged on the very gallows he built for Mordecai. And the people rejoiced in their salvation: “The Jews had light and gladness and joy and honor. And in every province and in every city, … there was gladness and joy among the Jews” [2].

The Cross | On the very day when the enemy of God hoped to gain the mastery over Jesus, the reverse occurred: Jesus gained mastery over the one who hated him: “God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” [3]. In the death of Christ, Satan was disarmed and shamed. He was stripped of his power to accuse us before God because the cross nullified his indictment against us [4]. And we rejoice in our salvation: “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls” [5].

Prayer | Lord, You work all things according to the counsel of your will [6] and you are righteous in all your ways [7]. In the story of Esther and the gospel of Jesus, not only did you defeat evil, you made evil destroy itself. Although the dark powers did their best to destroy your glory, they found themselves “quoting the script of ancient prophecy and acting the part assigned by [you]” [8]. Therefore, we have hope because no plan of yours can be thwarted and nothing – not even the most evil plans – can separate us from your great salvation [9]. Amen.

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Footnotes

Relevant Text: Rom. 2:5
Full Text: Esth. 7; Rom. 2

Worldview | Each of us has a narrative about how the world works. Conscious or subconscious, its effect is pervasive. Leslie Stevenson suggests, “So much depends on our conception of human nature: for individuals, the meaning and purpose of our lives, what we ought to do or strive for, what we may hope to achieve or to become” [1].

Christian | The Christian narrative, argues Albert Wolters, is utterly unique in its perspective: “The great danger is to always single out some aspect of God’s good creation and identify it, rather than the alien intrusion of sin, as the villain. Such an error [conceives] the good-evil dichotomy as intrinsic to the creation itself … [as] something in the good creation is identified as [the source] of evil. In the course of history, this ‘something’ has been variously identified as … the body and its passions (Plato and much of Greek philosophy), as culture in distinction from nature (Rousseau and Romanticism), as authority figures in society and family (psychodynamic psychology), as economic forces (Marx) … As far as I can tell, the Bible is unique in its rejection of all attempts to either demonize some part of creation as the root of our problems or idolize some part of creation as the solution” [2].

Effect | The problem with the world is sin and it’s in all of us. As Alexander Solzhenitsyn said, “[T]he line separating good and evil passes … right through every human heart” [3]. Its effect is disastrous. Paul wrote, “[B]ecause of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself” [4]. Why start the week by thinking about God’s hatred of sin? To the extent we understand it in our minds and hearts, the love of God will not sink to sentimentalism and self-help. It is not this. It is an infinitely precious and powerful treasure, an invaluable redemption, and the ultimate solution to the sin problem of the Christian narrative.

Prayer | Lord, You declared that your creation was “good” and that those created in your image were “very good” [5]. When sin entered the world, however, sin attached itself to every good created thing like a parasite. Our reasoning, emotions, actions and motives alike are all under its influence. Therefore, we praise you with deep humility for Christ’s redeeming love that cost him his life and that solved the sin problem for all who believe. Amen.

Relevant Text: Est. 4:15-16
Full Text: Est. 4; Acts 27

Cravings | “There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering,” said Earnest Hemingway. “The rest are merely games” [1]. Extreme sports enthusiasts, of course, agree. There needs to be some life-threatening element that satisfies our craving for adventure. After all, boredom is the worst. As Victor Hugo said, “One can dream of something more terrible than a hell where one suffers; it’s a hell where one would get bored” [2]. Yet, our craving for adventure has a twin craving that extreme sports don’t satisfy – significance. We don’t just want thrills; we want meaning. We want something that’s worth taking risks for.

Risks | Haman convinced the king to issue a decree to exterminate the Jewish refugees. The king, however, didn’t know that Esther was Jewish. When Mordecai heard about the decree, he asked Esther to plead their case to the king. Although she knew that the lives of her people were at stake, she also knew that the law stated that anyone who approached the king without being summoned would be killed unless mercy was shown. What did she do? She told Mordecai, “Go, gather all the Jews … and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” [3]. Esther didn’t know what would happen, but she made her decision based on wisdom and love. Then she handed the results over to God.

Obedience | In our culture, we have opportunities to take risks with significance daily. In fact, mere obedience can lead to a meaningful adventure. For example, when working professionals observe the Sabbath by resting from work and focusing on God, they risk being bested by colleagues and competitors. When we give the firstfruits of our income to God by tithing, we risk not being able to afford other things. How do we choose obedience? We release our cravings for comfort, security, control and success, and embrace our cravings for adventure, faith, miracles and deep knowledge of Jesus.

Prayer | Lord, You created us for adventure with significance. Yet, we are oftentimes misdirected and separate these twin cravings. In our lives, give us the courage to take risks for your kingdom, as we constantly choose faith over fear and obedience over sin. Amen.

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FAQs

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Footnotes