There’s No Comparison

“Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou Me.  Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding.”  Job 38:4-5

How does the world define greatness?  Is it not by the accomplishments of those who have done extraordinary things?  I think about all the things that I have NOT done:  led an army to victory, discovered a cure for cancer, invented a gadget to revolutionize the world, played sports on a major league team, held a political office, been a player on Wall Street, or traveled the world.  These are the things that folks hold high in esteem.  There are those who have done some things for which they should be recognized:  Alexander Graham Bell for his invention of the telephone, Jonas Salk for the discovery of the polio vaccine, the Wright brothers who brought air travel into existence, Billy Graham whose preaching led thousands of people to become believers in Jesus Christ, and many others whose endeavors led to the benefit of society.  I never knew any of these folks personally, that’s obvious, but I believe that all of them would not take credit for their accomplishments in a boastful way, not like some today who desire that everyone know just how important they are, and how the world couldn’t get along without them.  Whatever happened to good, old-fashioned humility?

I have tried to be a good Christian, daughter, wife, mother, and grandmother, but I haven’t really done anything about which I can boast.  I am just a regular person who tries to do the right thing, help others out in their times of need, and basically try to live as Jesus desires all of His followers to live with eternity in mind.  I find that putting 110 per cent into any endeavor gives those who do that a certain amount of satisfaction in their work.  (There is a big controversy now having to do with the government paying people not to work.  Sitting home, collecting money for nothing when there are jobs available is not good for anyone’s self-esteem.  God created people to work, not just in serving Him, but in serving our fellow men and women as well.  A job well done is its own reward.)  As far as our service for the Lord, we are to “present y(our) bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is y(our) reasonable service”  (Romans 12:1).  My uncle used to say that if we served the Lord to the best of our ability, attended church regularly, gave to the up building of God’s kingdom, and tried to do the right thing all of the time, then that was our “reasonable” service, that is, what God expected from us.  In other words, to follow that example makes us an “average” Christian.  The sad thing is that those who live this way are seen as exceptional by less committed Christians or kooks by the world.

Those of you who are familiar with the book of Job know that God allowed Satan to test Job to see whether or not he would continue to honor God regardless of his situation.  We know that Job lost all of his children and possessions, but did not dishonor God.  God then allowed the devil to afflict Job’s body with huge, painful sores, but again he did not dishonor God.  He did grieve extensively, though.  Some of his friends, that is, so-called friends, came to comfort him, but they mostly tried to convince him that he wasn’t as good a man as he thought he was.  He argued with them, defending himself, like most of us would do in a similar situation.  He maintained that he had always been obedient to and respectful of God.

But, at last, he came face to face with the LORD God who challenged him to examine himself and re-evaluate how he perceived his relationship with the LORD.  God began to ask him all sorts of questions pertaining to creation, the first one being, “Where were you, Job, when I created the world?”  After that first challenge, I imagine Job begin to feel mighty small compared to Almighty God.  God continue to question him concerning the creation of the stars, the sea, light and darkness, animals, the creatures of the sea, and so forth.  Job then admitted that he had made of lot of statements in his life of which he didn’t have a clue.  He said, “I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth Thee” (Job 42:5).  Job realized that he had nothing to boast about.  I suppose one could say that Job had taken God for granted.  Job was a good man.  God said so: “perfect and upright, one that feared God, and eschewed (avoided) evil” (Job 1:1), but Job’s relationship with God was more of one that was on a superficial level rather than a deep and humble one.  Job repented and prayed for his friends who were chastised by God for their condemning words to Job.  God then restored to Job twice as much as he had before.

What Job learned through his trial is an example for all of us.  We have done nothing to brag about.  There is no comparison of man’s attempts at greatness to the majesty and greatness of God.  He has done it all in sending Christ to do the work to make salvation available for all who will repent and believe on Him.  In the hymn “Rock of Ages” written in 1776 by August Toplady, there is a verse which is not included in most of our hymnals, but it has been quoted many times.  It goes like this: “Nothing in my hand I bring; Simply to Thy cross I cling; Naked come to Thee for dress; Helpless, look to Thee for grace; Foul, I to the fountain fly; Wash me, Savior, or I die.”  That about says it all.