The Farmville herald and farmer-leader. (Farmville, Va.) 1934-1957, 1954-10-08

thlnk we want is X - k8&S
some answer all
written out clear ssSs9sa - lSssSS'&
want all the why's and the where
fores answered SO that we have no
further questions to ask But,God
does not respond to this demand.
He did not give Job what Job kept
shouting for an explanatory So
far as we know Job never did find
out the real reason Why God mad
allowed these troubles to descend
on him. But his mind and heart
we're satisfied all the same
God Does Not Answer
From time to time, all through
the long, brilliant. dead-cnd argu-
ment Job has with his friends. Job
breaks off the line Of his thought
TO wish that he could once speak
TO God face to face These we'll
meaning. stupid friends Of his have
no answer to life's riddle They
nave one, but it is like a rusty Key
that fits no lock All they can Way
Though they repeat il again and
again with poetic poWerl is that
suffering is caused by SIM period
Job knows this does not fit his
case. not the way they think So
he feels almost as if he were
talking into Wen. There is nothing
but hollow darkness and he wants
God. Well, God at last comes down
in the terrifying majesty 6f a
great storm. Job dareS not look
but there comes out Of the Whirl
wind voice Of thunder. not
bringing answers but asking ques
tons. Job is beaten in the face
with a wind Of questions to Which
he has no answer at all In the
midst Of it Job begs God to stop,
but God viii not stop Many Of the
questions which are asked Of lob
science now can answer, but some
remain without answer to this day.
One lasting message Of these last
pages Of Job is that this universe
is woven with mystery from top TO
bottom We do not understand the
simple things around Us Why must
we expect the answers 10 the diff
cult questions before We can settle
the simpler problems? # the pres
ence of evil be a mystery and to
a large degree it is. it is only one
great question in a universe
crowded with questions
God Hos the Answers
There is one point Job reaches
in his final faith, which was not in
his first faith For the story Of Job
is about a man who began With a
faith which was real but INFESTED,
and came through storm and stress
TO a better faith, better because
wiser, better because tested in the
tempest He began with believing
that God ought to explain to him
all that God was doing He ends
with a faith that has given up
that claim God does not answer
him and yet he is satisfied How
could this be- II Is clear that job
did not think that God is puzzled
ny his own universe. God wisdom
Us infinite job believed that the
universe makes sense to Goo.
~ince it is His. The change in Jobs
thinking vas just here At first he
thought God ought to tell us what
he knows. At the last Job realizes
that God does not have to tell, us
all he knows, and Will not.
God Is the Answer
Nevertheless Jobs cry for light
did not 60 without response. For
he learned that in every darkness
God is the light God himself is
the answer. He learned that the
right question to ask in the pres
ence Of LIES tragedies is not al
ways Why is this" but rather,
How may ! meet it7" Explaining
life is less vital than bravely bear
ing life In a storm at sea the pas
sengers and even the crew may
be in greatest distress They may
not know where the storm came
from. nor how much Of the ocean
Is swept by it, they may have no
notion Of where land is, but they
do not mob the bridge demanding
weather map and lecture on
meteorology. They have confidence
in the captain An ounce Of conf
dence is worth ton Of explana-
tons. SO il is on the voyage Of life
We are all passengers across an
unplumbed sea, whose winds we
cannot chart and whose storms are
not made to our order But God
is the Captain KpoWing he is near.
we are content to ask fewer ques-
tons,
BASED on outlines copyrighted BY the
Division Of Christian Education, Ma
tionsl Council of the Churches OF Christ
In the L 6. A. Released by Com m unity
Press service)
a car loading record for the