Articles
The Blessing of Life
Are you glad to be alive? I hope so, but there are many who consider their existence to be a curse. Even godly men have struggled with this: “May the day perish on which I was born … may that day be darkness … Why did I not die at birth? … Why is light given to him who is in misery, and life to the bitter of soul, who long for death, but it does not come?” (Job 3:3-4, 11, 20-21). Now that’s a man in deep depression.
Job laments his conception as well as his birth: “(May the day perish) and the night in which it was said, ‘A male child is conceived’” (3:3b). There was a time when neither Job nor we existed, a time before our parents in cooperation with God created a new life, a self-aware person bearing the likeness of God. That truth alone is stunning! God created our spirit (Ecc 12:7), not for His amusement or slavish servitude, but to share in eternal, glorious fellowship with Him who is the very epitome of truth, righteousness, goodness and joy.
In his agony Job temporarily lost sight of the magnificent reality and possibilities of his own existence. Through no fault of his own he was sent through a smelting fire to discover the true nature of God and life – a journey we are all undertaking on various levels. While our suffering is somewhat mitigated by considering those who suffer more, our suffering is still our own and we must put it in the proper context of God’s present help and the hope of future glory. Job was able to work through his despair and come out the other side stronger. Love your life for the journey that it is; every day is a day closer to “receiving the end of your faith – the salvation of your souls” (1 Pet 1:9).
