The Relationship between Creator and Created

I have recently been reading the book of Job and I think that Job can tell us a lot about what it means to be a created being. Lets breakdown how we are to view God and how we are to relate to him.

“There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.”

– Job 1:1 NASB

The beginning of Job is very important in that it tells us a very interesting fact in this story, Job was blameless and upright, yet he still suffered. Throughout the story, Job struggles to understand why his life is being ruined. He argues that if he were to speak face to face to God and bring his case to him then he would end his suffering.

“Is not your fear of God your confidence, And the integrity of your ways your hope?”

– Job 4:6 NASB

Job’s friend Eliphaz tells him that God rewards the righteous and punishes the wicked, and Eliphaz asks Job about how he should trust in his’s fear of God and in the integrity of his ways. Yet Job knows himself that he is righteous and blameless. Yet all his friends have condemned him with their view of God. All Job’s friends see God’s nature as one where if you do good you are rewarded, yet if you do evil you are punished. But this view can’t be true as we know that Job is blameless and righteous, yet he is still receiving pain and suffering. How can we reconcile these two facts. In this life, God is not required to give you rewards when you are good, nor is he required to punish you when you are evil.

“In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways; and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.”

– Acts 14:16-17 NASB

We can see that even though the ancient people were sinners and worshiped idols, they too recieved blessings and gifts from the Father. And we see that also Job, even though he was blamless and upright, received pain. Doing what God commanded and fearing him is not about what you get out of it, but about the fact that your are honoring him. Yet we know that as believers, our portion is persecution and suffering from the world, but our reward is that we are united in life with Christ.

At the end of Job, we see that God does indeed come to him. God asks him many questions, but in doing this He brings to Job’s attention that Job is nothing and God is in the position of total authority and honor. We as believers should live out our lives in accordance with God because that is what we are called to do. That is our original design. Just as Jesus says about the slave who came in from the field to prepare food for his master.

“So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done’.”

– Luke 17: 10 NASB

We are to live our lives not for ourselves, but for God. As created beings we are to honor our Creator.

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