Scripture:
How then can I dispute with him?
How can I find words to argue with him?
Though I were innocent, I could not answer him;
I could only plead with my Judge for mercy ...
If only there were someone to mediate between us,
someone to bring us together,
someone to remove God’s rod from me,
so that his terror would frighten me no more.
Job 9:14-15,33-34
Observation: Job sums up Jesus in the span of about three dozen verses! God is our Lord, he has given us laws, and when we fail to fulfill them we fall short of his expectations and become subject to his judgment. We are so imperfect that even our defenses would become sin. However, Jesus came as savior to mediate between us and God. He took our sin, so that God now sees us through his perfect love ... he is now our abba daddy who loves us, and with whom we can have a relationship.
When we come to God without Jesus, we present ourselves as rebellious men whom God will judge; When we come to God through Jesus, we present ourselves has sons and daughters whom he loves.
Application: We must always remember what is at the heart of our Christian life - a relationship with Jesus. I once heard a wise man say that, without Jesus, a person "must work out their relationship with God on their own." In Job 9, Job is very clear about what that means: Going to God on your own means you are condemned due to your human, sinful nature that cannot be acceptable to God.
With Jesus, our mediator acknowledges us as children in the family, and we go to God in love.
Without Jesus, we are absolutely guilty of our sins, without any path of absolution, and therefore under righteous judgment. With Jesus, we are cleansed and forgiven, and accepted in mercy.
Prayer: Jesus, you are my Lord and savior. You is the center of my life, and the only person or thing with whom I place my faith. Please, Jesus, guide me in doing your will here on earth - fulfilling your purposes for my life - so that you will acknowledge me before our father in heaven. Amen.
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