This morning, reading Job with women at the Rescue Mission, I finally realized how wonderful Job is, as advocate for all those whose lives are hard. As a reminder, against judgemental people, that it's not the case that we deserve the hard stuff we get.
I don't think we, the Rescue Mission women and I, have ever moved as easily between our own contexts and biblical contexts--we shifted back and forth through the poetic metaphors that seemed to thick when I read them in college. Job's "friends" are all those people who try to tell us that if we just repent, our lives will get easy. We'll have nice homes (and will always have our rent money on time), and will regain custody of the kids the CPS took away, and will be free from addictions.
And Job had some really quick, cutting come-backs to the smooth and easy religious cliches those friends try to lay on him.
I want him on my advocacy team.
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2 comments:
Sounds wonderfully profound, Molly....so true, yet don't you think it is difficult to teach women in particular how to un-learn the "I deserve the hard stuff I get" mentality? I think that made sense...uh....caffeine...Er
Nice, Molly.
Both the Spirit work and these words.
What I liked best was that I could see their faces as I read your description. This post resounds with authenticity.
The women of the Rescue Mission Bible Study sustain me, too.
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