Job's Friends

I've been reading through the book of Job lately and find myself getting more and more frustrated with Job's friends as the story progresses. Finally, today, a question emerged in my mind: Why weren't Job's friends tested?

The answer I came to, after some thought, is not one that I'm all together comfortable with, but I'll share it anyway. Maybe, we need to be worthy of being tested. Maybe, just maybe, Job's friends wouldn't have been able to handle that situation. They would have crumbled. They relied more on the culture's idea of blessings and curses instead of being in relationship with God. Or maybe, worse, they had been tested, had seen the pain of life, but instead of using their experiences to strengthen and encourage Job they ripped him apart, because obviously God had to see Job as chief among sinners. Compared to him, they looked like saints. 

All too often the church functions like the friends in the book of Job, not presenting the idea that Job is being tested and refined by God, rather that he is being punished for his sins. Yes, I do feel that we should constantly be examining ourselves to see if sin is disrupting our relationship with God, but I do not feel that every time turbulence hits in life that God is displaying his vengeance for us. We, that is the Church, still force this idea of punishment on people because it creates the idea that someone else is worse off then us. When we having a living breathing example of God's wrath raining down on someone else then we feel safe, like we aren't really that bad. Sadly, I think the result of pressing this idea is not self-reflection or examination, but alienation from a relationship with God. With someone constantly placing the question "What did you do to deserve this from God?" before you, who could blame people if their relationship with the Almighty backslides. They constantly being told that they aren't good enough and they deserve to be punished, thus creating the absolute worst punishment anyone could be handed by God, a lack of relationship with Love. 

Job wasn't being punished by God, and I think that God is rarely punishing those of us who experience aching pain. I think we need to face the reality, that relationships are tried and strengthened during times of pain, including our relationship with the Father. It's during theses times that God calls us most intimately to himself, and we cannot be fooled by the cries of others that he has abandoned us or that we shouldn't approach him. The jeers of men do not reflect the heart of God. As we run to the Father, crying in pain, he is there, even when we can't feel him. And if we keep running, he will meet us and revel himself to us. Through our personal crosses we find the grace and power of The Cross.