THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 22, 1994 TAG: 9410220063
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Issues of Faith
SOURCE: Betsy Wright
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
RECENTLY, IN my personal scripture study time, I've been fascinated by the book of Job. It's not the first time I've read the book - it was a favorite during my first husband's long illness - but it is the first time I've read it when my life wasn't in the dumps.
Because of its theme - the meaning of human suffering - I've only turned to the book of Job when times were tough and I needed some spiritual guidance. My life is pretty great right now, so I'm reading Job in a different way. I'm studying the text, rather than just feeling the story.
The book of Job addresses three questions: Why do humans suffer? Why do innocent people suffer? How should a person endure suffering?
I'm hung up on that last question. Should we question God about our suffering? Should we just ``trust and obey,'' as the old hymn says? When does our questioning turn to bitterness? When should it turn to acceptance of God's will?
According to David J.A. Clines, professor of biblical studies at the University of Sheffield, England, Job shows us two kinds of ``model sufferers.'' In the first part of the book, Job is the first kind of ``model sufferer'': patient and totally accepting of the tribulation in his life.
From the third chapter on, however, Job becomes a different kind of ``model sufferer.'' He becomes a very human, very real sufferer: bitter, angry and questioning.
Clines says that what makes this protesting Job a model for other sufferers ``is that he directs himself constantly toward God, whom he regards as responsible, both immediately and ultimately, for his suffering.''
``It is only,'' Clines continues, ``because Job insists on a response from God that God enters into dialogue with Job. Even though Job's intellectual questions about the injustice of his suffering are never adequately answered, he is, in the end, satisfied, as a sufferer, by his encounter with God.''
I've thought about that a lot, and the more I've thought about it, the more I agree. There are two kinds of sufferers, and most of us have lived long enough to know, or even be, both kinds. What I like about Clines' insight is that both kinds of sufferers are considered ``models.'' By portraying Job as both the Accepting Sufferer and the Questioning Sufferer, the story shows that neither is better or worse than the other. They are just different.
Does God accept and love both kinds of sufferers? Yes.
Sometimes I've not believed that. Sometimes I've felt strongly that it was a sin to question God. Often I've felt guilty for my own questions and begged God's forgiveness for asking them.
I now believe I was missing the point.
The point, I think, is not about questioning God but about believing that there is a God who can be questioned. As Professor Clines points out, Job never gets an answer to his question but is ``satisfied, as a sufferer, by his encounter with God.''
This ``encounter with God'' is the crux of the matter. This ``encounter with God'' is what makes all questions important - from that of the cancer patient who wonders, ``Why me, Lord?'' to that of the small child who pleads, ``Is anybody up there?''
Ultimately, it is the process of bringing our questions to God - our ``encounter'' - that enables us to finally accept that often in life there are no answers. It is then we can recognize that because God is God, we don't always need answers.
In the end, we must submit to God, as did Job, by throwing our hands over our mouths and acknowledging that we've asked enough questions.
In the end, we must accept that while we might not get answers, having encountered God, we can find a measure of peace. MEMO: Every other week, Betsy Mathews Wright publishes responses to her
opinion column. Send responses to Issues of Faith, The Virginian-Pilot,
150 W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk, Va. 23510; call (804) 446-2273; FAX
(804) 436-2798; or send e-mail to bmw(AT)infi.net. Deadline is Tuesday
before publication. You must include name, city and phone number.
by CNB