Job 14:1-6, “Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He comes forth like a flower and fades away; he flees like a shadow and does not continue. And do You open Your eyes on such a one, and bring me to judgment with Yourself? Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one! Since his days are determined, the number of his months is with You; You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass. Look away from him that he may rest, till like a hired man he finishes his day.”
Men like to think of themselves as more than they are and God
as less than He is. If we were to make a base case for why there is so much
rebellion, disobedience, and faithlessness, this idea would be among the root
causes.
It would serve both the prince and the pauper alike to
revisit the words of Job regularly and rediscover the timeless truth contained
therein, for no matter how well-known, well-liked, well-heeled, or well-tended,
the truth is that man comes forth like a flower and fades away. He flees like a
shadow and does not continue.
It doesn’t matter how much kale you force down your gullet,
how many handfuls of vitamins and essential nutrients you take every morning,
how robust your exercise regimen is, or whether you subscribe to red light
therapy or blue light therapy, everyone’s days are determined, and the number
of their months are with Him.
Yes, the notion of quality of life is one that must be
acknowledged, whether you’re stuck in a mobility scooter at twenty-five,
wheezing through an oxygen mask, or being able to climb a flight of stairs
without having heart palpitations is of consequence and something you have
agency over, but as far as lengthening one’s days or extending the number of
years we’ve been given, those limits have been appointed by God, and man cannot
pass the limit that was set for him.
Given the technological advancements of recent decades, some
have even taken it upon themselves to endeavor for immortality, something not
given to man, no matter how rich, consequential, or willing to live as an echo
of what they once were, a displaced brain in a machine, without the true spark
of life, or the presence of a soul. It’s the fear of death that drives such
individuals, and they fear death because they do not know life. They do not
know life because they do not know God, and one cannot be known independently
of the other.
They scramble about failing to live for fear of dying,
believing they can circumvent divine order and extend the appointed limits that
have been deemed unpassable. Men have always feared death to a certain degree,
but given the anecdotal evidence available, none more so than this present
generation.
It doesn’t take a deep dive to understand how void of hope in
anything beyond this present life many have become. All it takes is looking
back on the last few years and seeing how few of those who just months prior
sang, “I’ve got a home, waitin’ in the heavenly kingdom, up where the streets
are made of gold” until the rafters shook, did not give in to fear and
continued about their lives rather than shrink wrap themselves and wait
patiently in their basements for the all-clear. This shift in attitude towards
death and the life to come is a clear sign of the fear that has gripped this
generation.
Your days are determined, and the number of your months are
with God. If that is the baseline of your reality, fear will never enter the
equation or be allowed to hobble you in your duty toward Him.
If fear of death were a contributing factor to those who came
before us, their testimonies would likely never have existed because, in their
drive to spare themselves or extend their days, they would not have dared to
stand before the masses who were set on their destruction, baying for blood, and
proclaim the name of Jesus with their dying breaths.
Fear of death is bondage, and it’s usually those who are
already dead that fear it, ever enslaved by it, more concerned about its
inevitability and finality than receiving the life that would dispel it once
and for all.
1 John 3:13-15, “Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world
hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the
brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his
brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding
in him.”
Although the broader conversation John was having focused on the
love of the brethren, it cannot be overlooked that he was firmly convinced that
he, along with those to whom he was writing, had passed from death to life. It
is an often-seen theme throughout the New Testament, and something Job was not
privy to because the Christ had not yet come.
Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean Job queried? No
one! That was his conclusion, and at the time, he was not wrong. However, with
the advent of Christ, we were given the grace to know salvation, transformation,
and rebirth from death to life so that the bondage of fear would no longer hold
sway over us.
Romans 6:8-10, “Now if we died with Christ, we believe that
we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead,
dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He
died, he died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.”
Job had come to terms with his mortality, understanding that
the only one who has agency over when we breathe our first and when we breathe
our last is God and God alone. It’s undeniable that had Job had his way, he would
have preferred it all to end till, like a hired man, he finished his day, but
it was not up to him.
Your today will not determine your tomorrow, just as your yesterday did not determine your today. Yes, there are times and seasons in life when we cling to hope by the barest of threads, but the overarching assurance that if we died with Christ, we shall also live with Him gives us the strength to persevere and endure.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea, Jr.
Posted on 1 April 2025 | 11:03 am
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