DAD'S RAMBLINGS – THE "IFs" OF LIFE
"Does He (God) not see my ways, and count all my steps?" (Job 31:4)
Job knew that God saw His ways – that he lived in integrity. We have already discovered that Job's life was marked by integrity – that he was a righteous man. He lived by what he knew was right in God's eyes. Psalm 139 echoes Job's words. "O LORD, You have searched me and known me... You comprehend my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O LORD, You know it altogether." (Psalm 139:1, 3-4).
Yet Chapter 31 is filled with "ifs." According to my count, the word "if" is used 16 times in this chapter. "If" is a word of possibility. Job said --
If I have lied, God knows that I have lived with integrity (vs. 5-6).
If I have not completely walked in God's ways, then let my crops fail (vss. 7-8).
If I was unfaithful to my marriage vows, then let God judge me (vss. 9-12).
If I have treated my servants improperly, then God will judge me (vss. 13-15).
If I have mistreated the poor or the widow or the orphan, then let God judge me (vss. 16-23).
What do we do with these "ifs"?
I do not think that these "ifs" were confession of guilt. They were a part of his defense. He knew that he had lived honestly, had been faithful to his wife, had treated his servants, the poor, the widows and the orphans with mercy and grace. In effect, he was challenging his accusers to prove his sin. He was not sinless in the sense that he never did anything wrong. Only God is without sin. But he had lived his life before God to the best of his ability in accordance with God's will. He knew that He was clean before God, and he was willing to let God do the judging if there were any failures.
My heart is in sync with Job. I know that I have not always lived the perfect life. I know that God's word says that if I say I have no sin, I deceive myself and call God a liar (I John 1:8, 10).
But I also know that God's knows my heart. I do not live in the "ifs." I live in the confidence that my sins are covered by God's grace by the blood of Jesus (I John 1:7). There is no condemnation. God knows that I want to live pleasing to Him. I can live in the freedom that Job had – that God covers the "ifs".
Love, Dad
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