Daily Reflections - Feb 4, 2018

Job 7: 1 - 4, 6 - 7; 1 Corinthians 9: 16 - 19, 22 - 23; Mark 1: 29 - 39

Job 7: 1 - 4, 6 - 7 Life is hard … every day passes in hardship and I look for a better future, but I see none.

Mark 1: 29 - 39 Jesus preaches in a town in Galilee and heals many, goes to pray and continues to the next villages

1 Corinthians 9: 16 - 19, 22 - 23 Paul's work is not work for himself, but duty towards God. Hence he claims no payment but enjoys the privilege of being chosen for the work and considers that to be his reward.

Life is a struggle. Yes, life is hard. Ever since Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden to plough the earth and harvest their crops, the human has had to labour, face hardships and a variety of opposition. The evil one makes the struggle harder and puts too many obstacles in a person’s way with the intention to demoralise the person and break the victim’s faith in God’s mercy. Moreover, as life has evolved drastically and the population increased exponentially, the evil one has anticipated the change and has induced the human mind with ambition, greed and the competitive spirit. It’s hard to find people who are willing to share and yet when we do find such people, we find them amidst the poor.

In the reading of Job 7:1 - 4 and 6 - 7, we read about Job, the righteous man of God lamenting and grumbling about his life. The devil has defied God and put Job in way too much despair. But God is merciful. God never allows a person to be tested beyond their capacity and the Lord enables a righteous person with capabilities to battle difficulties way before the hardships even arrive. God in His wisdom knew that the devil would defy Him by testing Job’s righteous spirit and challenging the beautiful relationship that Job shared with God. As Job had aged, God was preparing his heart and his spirit with holiness and spiritual strength to overcome the greatest perils. God had built Job to be a man of great devotion and a prophet who would cherish his relationship with his creator a lot more than his earthly possessions and even his family. For Job, it was GOD COMES FIRST. After God had consented to Job’s testing, the devil destroyed everything he had including killing all his children. But Job’s wife survived because they were united in the bond of matrimony. They were no more two people, they were one. Job knew that God would someday come to his rescue. He displayed his humility through his obedience to God and he never spoke even a single harsh word against the Lord. Instead, he said, ‘God has given and God has taken away, Praise the Lord!’. Job knew that in time, God would put an end to his time of testing and raise him once again. He grieved for his own loss but never charged God with injustice. In in this way, Job allowed God to use his family, his earthly wealth, his comfort and even his health to prove the devil wrong. Job took his suffering as a privilege to serve God’s purpose and increase God’s Glory. In his own way, through his actions, he spread the Good News about God’s mercy.

God never leaves his people in despair for too long and hence He sent His Own Son Jesus of Nazareth to remind His people of His Covenant and His mercy. Jesus was born and grew up among the descendants of Abraham.It was the people of Judea who first heard the Gospel and experienced the reminder of God’s unfathomable Mercy. The Gospel of Mark 1: 29 - 39 reads about how Jesus travelled from town to town, village to village on a continuous pace. He spread God’s Good News of Mercy, healed the sick, expelled demons and brought light and hope to the heart of every person who was humble enough to believe. Jesus knew about everybody’s suffering and he wasted no time celebrating His Own glory in any town, but immediately rushed to the next where he knew that those suffering were patiently waiting for God’s merciful healing and he had to reach to heal them in time to give them freedom from their despair.

God’s merciful touch gives us great hope for a better future. His work is of great merit and doing it has greater benefits than the rewards. In fact, the privilege of doing God’s work of mercy is itself the reward for our faith in Him. Hence, in Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians 9: 16 - 19 and 22 - 23, he speaks about the privilege of doing and suffering in doing God’s work and marks it as his duty to accomplish God’s will to the best of his capabilities. Paul calls it his duty since he believed that the ‘great privilege’ was his reward, his payment and the compensation for the work. He knew it was hard and he knew of the suffering, he felt it all along and yet every whip and every insult hurled at him gave him abundant Joy because he perceived that his work brought about a reaction. He perceived the opposition to his work, the threats and the fear among the pagans as the beginning of his success; understanding that the devil was inducing the opposition. Hence, he knew that his work had already become a threat to the pagan world of the devil and he had great faith that God’s Will would succeed through his faith and his effort. And for that, he was willing to sacrifice everything; for the privilege of being part of God’s merciful endeavour in the hearts of men.

Let is also believe that by living our lives in faith, diligently following God’s commands, ordinances, decrees and His Will; we will also have the privilege of delivering God’s Gospel through our actions and our lives and finally inherit what Jesus Christ promised us; Eternal Life.