Afterwords -- week 18
"And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, 'It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.'" Thus Job did continually." (Job 1:5 ESV)
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April 23, 2022
Dear friends,
I once thought that my job of parenting would be over when my children were grown. That's true in the sense that they do become responsible for their own life and decisions. But my wife and I find ourselves praying often for them, as often as we did before, but now primarily for their spiritual welfare. I'm here referring specifically to our biological children, but the same principle applies to our spiritual children, i.e., those whom we teach, or guide, or care for.
Late one night as I was praying for our children I recalled the verse above (Job 1:5). This is the very first example of Job's righteousness mentioned in that book. He was "blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil" (Job 1:1; cf Ezek 14:14; Jas 5:11). And he exemplified that by interceding for -- even offering sacrifices for -- his adult children. Adult children. These were not minors.
This was more than praying for their physical well-being, or even for wisdom as they made life decisions. Job is interceding in a costly, sacrificial way for their ongoing communion with God. It is petitioning the Lord on their behalf the very same request we pray for ourselves: "...forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil" (Matt 6:12-13). However, the sacrifice we bring to God when we pray, unlike Job, is not a physical offering but rather, we hold forth Jesus' atoning death. "For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself." (Acts 2:39 ESV).
Christopher Ash writes about Job's sacrifices,
"What was so serious that it necessitated such an expensive and urgent sacrifice? Why did Job insist on doing this party by party? Because he said to himself, 'It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts' (v. 5). Although the children presumably showed outward piety (they did not curse God with their mouths; their parties were not wild drunken orgies or anything like that), Job is anxious lest in their hearts they did not honor God, lest deep inside lurked the godless wish that there were no God.
Job knows that what matters is not the appearance of godliness but a godly heart. He knows that to curse God in the heart, to wish God dead (as it were), is a terribly serious offense, an offense that carries the eternal death penalty if it is not atoned for. But Job believes in the atoning power of sacrifice, and so he offers burnt offerings, As Proverbs says, 'In the fear of the LORD one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge' (Proverbs 14:26). And the narrator concludes, 'Thus Job did continually' (v. 5). Year after year the godly Job covers any secret sin in his children's hearts with sacrifice." (Job: The Wisdom of the Cross, p. 35)(Crossway, 2014)
So, let us not stop praying for our children! We have labored and prayed for them to come to Christ. Many are praying that their children would come back to Christ after growing up and going their own way. For those indifferent and lukewarm, we pray for zeal and fire to be rekindled in their hearts. For those adult children who have remained faithful to God, we labor in prayer for their continued walk with Christ. We pray that their faith would not fail (Lu 22:32). We pray that they would be filled with thoughts of praise for God rather than with thoughts of discontent toward God. We pray that what they learned they would pass on to their children (Ps 78:6; 2 Tim 2:2). Let us not stop praying for our children...
"He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments..." (Psalm 78:5-7 ESV)
WHAT I'M LISTENING TO.
-- Dick Lucas (Richard C. Lucas, b. 1925), is an Anglican pastor, and a contemporary of J. I. Packer and John R. W. Stott. He is not as well known among U.S. evangelicals as he is in the U.K. He served many years as rector of St. Helen's Bishopsgate, London, and led weekly lunchtime Bible studies which were popular with London businessmen. Now in his late 90s he records "From My Study to Yours", a 20- to 30-minute audio discussion of various passages of Scripture. Though informal and "unpolished" (in his words), these are deep and penetrating reflections from a godly pastor of many years. His mind is still very sharp. Start here with his introduction to the epistle of Jude. And here are other messages by Lucas, some going back to the 1970s.
-- Kristyn Getty, reading the ESV Bible. This has been a change-up from my normal morning Scripture reading. Currently, I'm listening to her reading the Psalms, and I find her voice very well suited for this. More about Kristyn Getty and the ESV audio Bible is here. The audio ESV of her reading is also available free with the ESV app.
FOUNTAIN PEN-FRIENDLY PAPER.
If you write with a fountain pen -- and shouldn't we all -- you soon realize that most paper randomly available these days is not suitable for fountain pen ink, which may feather or bleed through the page. Here and here are a couple of good articles about fountain pen-friendly paper. FYI, my current journal is a Rhodia Webnotebook, A5 size + dot grid, and it's very smooth. The only challenge for me is coming up with thoughts worthy enough to write on such nice paper!
A LITERARY PREQUEL...
FINAL QUOTE.
"Just as the natural life must be developed, so also the spiritual life. It must not remain hidden from people, neither can it be buried as a treasure in a field. It cannot be doomed to inactivity. Life is a stranger to all stagnation. Life is movement, life is strength, life is action. All that lives moves and develops." -- Herman Bavinck, The Sacrifice of Praise, p. 29.
Well, that's it for week 18!
Sandy
Image credit: Photo above by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash. Cartoon by John Atkinson.