Glory Is Brought To Christ Through God’s Grace, Our Own Faithful Choices
There is a good deal of discussion about ‘character’ these days.
‘Character,’ as I define it, makes up who a person is. It is the combination of thoughts, feelings, and actions that, when summed-up form one’s character. Yes? As a Christian, my view of ‘character’ is informed by Biblical principles like avoiding evil and choosing/doing right, honesty, reverence for God and His Creations, faithfulness to God, family, and country—and, most importantly, accepting Christ as Lord and Savior.
Today, it seems that ‘character,’ as I’ve defined it, makes like-minded people the special target of what constitutes ‘members of woke society.’ From my Bible study, it seems the Book of Job, authored by Moses, one of sixty-six elements of the Holy Bible (KJV), reads like a digest version of what is transpiring in today’s world.
The Book of Job, Chapter One, Verses One & Eight (KJV):
There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
It is from this point forward that Satan bargains with God to test Job’s character. The trials and travails of Job are the equivalent of torture most heinous. In the end, though, Job is proved a man of God. Although Job was taxed to the extreme, his response bears witness about what a person can be in Christ.
“It is not by chance or luck or strong will that Job refuses to ‘curse God and die’ (Job 2:9). No, it is because of Job’s many years of faithfulness and obedience to God. They give him the faith and character that help him to trust in the Lord, no matter what happens to him.”
Job was made of the same flesh and bone as all of us. But through the grace (mercy and forgiveness) of God and his own faithful choices, Job lived a life of faithful obedience to God.
“The very image of God is to be remade and shown in humans. The honor of God, the honor of Christ, is involved in the perfection [full growth] of the character of His people.”—Adapted from Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, page 671. The life of Job is an example of how humans may show this principle. Job lived many, many years ago. But God’s people in every period of history still have the honor of living in the same way too. Bringing glory to God is what Job does. And it is what we can do as well.
A religious movement in the 1600s—The Protestant Reformation–resurrected the great truth of salvation by faith alone. This truth was first recorded in the Bible back in Eden itself (read Genesis 3:15). Then it was made clearer in the life of Abraham (read Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3). Afterward, it was more and more exposed in Bible history up through Paul. The truth of salvation by faith alone always includes the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. In the life and character of Job, we find a great example of what this work looks like.
Questions for us all: What in our lives brings glory to God today? What choices do we need to make in order to live as faithfully as Job did? Is knowing the difference between right and wrong, good vs. evil—and choosing/making right choices/good decisions a way to bring glory to God? — FM
