“Land Beyond Despair”
Returning from the death of his hope and his faith as he understood it, Job is changed. Out of his anguish saw light. Job recognizes the full humanity of his daughters as well as sons, anticipating Paul’s observation in Galatians 3:28 that nationality, social status, and gender are irrelevant. Job prays God shows undue mercy for his former friends– those whose faith led them to believe Job deserved his suffering, and anticipates Jesus’ call in Luke 6:35 to love our enemies. What if the only way to to really live in light is to die to self?
As we move into another contentious and consequential election, we must remember the lessons of Job on the other side of anguish. We must see the full humanity of all persons. We must have compassion for those who have treated us badly. May God equip us all with the courage, wisdom, and tenacity to tear apart the embroidery of our hard-earned merit badges so we will have the thread needed to stitch our country back together on the other side of Tuesday.
