The Best, Worst Things about Bearing God's Image

   A preview of February's email-only article.

Jared Rice

LIFE HAS A way of beating us down at times. But no matter how bad our circumstances, often the worst part is not knowing why terrible things occur.

Every month I publish an exclusive article for my email subscribers, and this month we're looking at Job 10. Job reached some depths of despair most of us will never know, but he always held on to one truth. We discuss that truth in this month's article.

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Here's a snippet of this month's exclusive:

When we open up the tenth chapter of Job, we find our protagonist in a dark place.

Of course, Job spends most of the book in metaphorical darkness, but here in chapter ten he takes a turn for the worse, admitting, "I loathe my life" (v. 1). Life, the most precious of gifts, the most beautiful and fragile and rarest of possessions, and yet Job loathes it.

What does it mean to loathe? Merriam-Webster defines loathing as great disklike; disgust. Job is disgusted with his own life. Why? You know the reasons. His children have died. His possessions have been plundered. His health has deteriorated to an excruciating degree. His wife told him to "Curse God and die" (Job 2:9). His friends, helpful at first, descend into jerk territory—accusing him of sin, suggesting his children deserved their fate, and proclaiming he should repent—all for want of a better theology.

Penniless, abandoned, bereaved, confused, accused, and afflicted, you can see why Job's life might disgust him. Earlier in the book he even said it would have been better if his mother had miscarried! That's some pretty dark stuff right there.

Have you ever loathed your life?

 
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What Did Job Mean We Should "Receive Evil" from God?

  A preview of November's email-only article.

Job on the Ash Heap: Job Berated by His Wife, Jusepe de Ribera (c. 1632)

Every month I publish an exclusive article for my email subscribers. (If you'd like to join the club, fill out the form below. It's free!)

In this month's subscriber email we're examining what Job meant when he said we should "receive evil" from God.

Here's how the article starts:

Stop me if you've heard this one.

A friend, family member, or coworker has a terrible thing happen. Car accident, layoff, death of a family member. Now he is "mad at God" because, "How could he let this happen?" Once he was a Christian, now he's not so sure he can believe in God who would cause so much pain.

No doubt you know someone firsthand or have heard tell of such a tale thirdhand. Maybe that person I just described is you.

Why is this story so common?

I think the reason is quite simple. Human beings, created in God's image, are designed for eternity. We are meant to live in harmony and peace with him forever. This destiny is embedded in our psyche, woven into our DNA. The story of Adam and Eve in the garden of eternal bliss and the promise of eternity in glory with our heavenly father are as natural to us as breathing. We anticipate harmony without even being conscious of said anticipation. Why?

 
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Why Didn't God Create a Sinless Reality from the Beginning?

Simon Matzinger

Did you know I write a monthly article for email subscribers?

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This month we discussed a deep philosophical question I'm probably unqualified to answer. Nevertheless, I took a stab at it and even included an awkward middle school story. What could be better?

Here's a snippet:

If, as I asserted last month, we humans will be sinless yet have free will intact when we go to heaven, why didn't God simply create such a reality from the beginning?

The short answer is this: It's not possible. 

Whoa, are you saying something is not possible for God? 

To achieve the end result God desires, yes, it's not possible. Hear me out. 

The first fact we have to establish is that created beings cannot be perfect. I know what you're thinking, Didn't we establish last month that we will become perfect? Yes, but here I mean perfect in the way God is perfect. That is, omniscient, omnipotent, and so on. 

To put it another way: any created being must be a non god. 

Why? Because by definition, God is not created. 

Why is it important to establish this fact?

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God Is Not as Silent as It Might Seem

Kristina Flour

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This month, I wrote about why it sometimes seems as if God is silent in our lives. Here's how the article begins:

Does it ever feel like God is silent? 

If you’ve been a Christian for any stretch of time, you’ve probably had moments or seasons of your life when you felt as if God wasn’t communicating to you. 

I know I have. 

Sometimes prayers seem like hand-written letters mailed overseas with no tracking number. No confirmation of delivery. So we are left wondering if God ever received the letter, and if so, why hasn’t he written back? 

What we really want is something like a text message with instant feedback and confirmation God received the message. And we want to be able to see when he’s typing out a response on his end. 

While these moments can be frustrating, may I suggest God’s not as silent as it seems?

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