J.A. Matteson
The summary statement of our lives will be left for others to contemplate, and write. What conclusions will they draw? Will their summary be accurate or a distortion as seen through the clouded lens of personal bias? To distill down a vast tapestry of experiences lived out into a single memorable essence is daunting. "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). All that God created in the beginning was "very good." The Fall tarnished everything. Redemption in Christ Jesus is intended for good works to characterize the lives of His people, and apart from Christ all efforts are seen by God as filth. The will of God does not fail, for as sovereign He is able to bring to pass what He purposes. The story of God's people is the same in essence, yet different in detail. Another chapter of our lives is now being written. The story of God's people is one of adversity and victory, pain and suffering, joy and elation, bondage and freedom. The life story of Job continues to speak to all generations for it captures the broader narrative of every pilgrim in Christ Jesus. In the final analysis God alone is able to precisely capture the essence of our lives, to get our story right, for He wrote it before one day of it was lived out. Yet in spite of our imperfections we can honor those now gone by being honest, diligent in our portrayal of the story which was their life. To the extent that we do this respectfully and, with reverence to God, we do a good work.
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