Living in the Spirit
September 28, 2015

Scripture Reading: Job 1:1, 2:1-10

There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil….

One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. The Lord said to Satan, ‘Where have you come from?’ Satan answered the Lord, ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.’ The Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. He still persists in his integrity, although you incited me against him, to destroy him for no reason.’ Then Satan answered the Lord, ‘Skin for skin! All that people have they will give to save their lives. –Job 1:1, 2:1-4

Job is the story of a man who pledged his allegiance to God and never wavered from it. High drama, the story unfolds with Satan proclaiming any human would give all he or she had to live. God responds that Job would not give up his integrity.

We are watching a similar real drama unfold before our very eyes as refugees flee from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and northern Africa knowing they may indeed lose their livee in the fleeing, but also feeling having their way of being taken from them, living in constant fear of death and destruction, and watching their children starve is worse than death. No one wants to die, but there are worse things than death.

People would not face the dangers of such a journey, if they had lost all hope. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) These refugees are people of faith. They may now call the Supreme Being they rely on the same name we do. They may not follow the same rituals and the same holy days but they are people of faith.

God calls us to love like Jesus loved and I can envision Jesus walking the path of freedom with each of these people, feeding them, caring for their illness and wounds, celebrating the birth of their children arriving at a most inopportune time. I can also see him meeting them at their final destination, making them feel at home, giving them opportunities for self-support and sustenance. We are the hands and feet of Jesus in the world today. Let us open our hearts to these people who still have hope.

Prayer: Lord, we ask that your presence be a blessing to all those who flee from terrors most of us have never know. Open doors of understanding for us and show us as we are to love them. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.