The innocent prosper

Today's readings
Tomorrow's readings

" Remember: who that was innocent ever perished?Or where were the upright cut off?" Job 4:7

The book of Job is hard for me to read on a few levels but the conversations between Job and his friends/accusers are painful to behold. They are painful for me because I hear them in the halls of the church I attend in various guises. And I titled this post as an ironic designation for I hear things like this all of the time and it makes me sad. We seem to have a knack for making our lives about works rather than faith. We see others in the worst possible light and ourselves in the best possible light and it should be the other way around. We see someone in a trial or suffering and we think they must have done something to deserve it. And yet a minute later we can be in a conversation about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and affirm that He died for US and He Himself was sinless. And we dont realize the disconnect in our thinking.Granted we are all sinful but all suffering is not an indication of punishment. We have only to read Proverbs and the Psalms to see that the innocent often do not prosper and the guilty can be rich beyond their wildest dreams. That is the idea that will stick with me today. Mercy and compassion and comfort are things that are naturally foreign to us and we need to cultivate them. With the help of the Holy Spirit we can. And may God richly bless us in this effort today.