Job 1:6: “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and the adversary came also among them.”

Practically every modern English translation will render the word yasav as to present themselves. Actually the word goes much further than that. Yasav has the idea of certifying, to take a stand or to stand up for someone. This appears to be a rally where all the sons of God who support God and served Him came together to declare their allegiance and love to God. Among them was an adversary.

Ever wonder what gave the enemy the idea that he could be just as powerful and or more so than God?  He is after all an intelligent being, far more intelligent than you or I and we all know no one can be more powerful that God. Am I missing something here?  Take a closer look at this exchange in Job 1 and you can easily see where the enemy felt he found a flaw in God’s power.

God is love, complete, total, perfect love.  He cannot hate, He is incapable of creating fear, and all He can do is love. The enemy thought he found a flaw in total love. With the creation of man and giving man a free will, the enemy felt he found the fatal flaw in God. If God is perfect in love and incapable of showing hate or fear, what if hate and fear were more of a motivating factor that love?  Therein lies the basis of all the teachings of the Bible, of all the teachings of Jesus, of the very meaning for our existence, to prove that love does conquer all.

God pointed out Job as an example of one who served Him faithfully and the enemy responded: “Yeah, sure he does, you pay him well enough. Take it all away and watch how quickly he will turn against you.”

Let’s bring this into our modern setting. Every religion in the world except Christianity and Judaism has a god that is feared. They serve their god out of fear or personal greed.  They will offer sacrifices and offerings to their gods, expecting in return good blessings.  Unfortunately the same spirit has entered Christianity and many churches and blinds us to the true nature of Christianity. In true Christianity we worship God out of love. A love that asks for nothing in return. How long would a church be able to pay the pastor a salary, a light bill or a mortgage if the pastor stood before the congregation and said, “Don’t put one dime in the offering plate if you expect God to give you something in return.  Give to Him and expect no blessing. God will bless you just as much if you don’t give than if you do give.” Of course that is not the American way.  In our culture we learn from early childhood that everything we have we have to work for it and earn it.  The harder you work the more you will get. It is only natural that this cultural idea flows into our faith.  IJohn 4:8 tells us that perfect love will cast out all fear. How much of our tithes, our service to God is motivated by fear? Even the most subtle or slightest hint of fear.  I am speaking of a fear that God will not bless us if we don’t tithe; fear that God will punish us if we do not attend church. When I really take a close look at my motivations in my service to God, I have to admit there is an element of fear.

Maybe I am a dreamer, I dream of living my life without fear and serving God out of total love. Yet, no matter how hard I try to discipline myself, I find myself pleading to God to change my circumstance, get me a nice house on some New England coast where I can write and look out at the ocean during a crisp autumn day, when I should be saying: “It is well with my soul.” 

Yes, it does not come naturally for me, maybe it does for you. But I have to discipline myself to say: “Your grace is sufficient for me.” I have to do what every orthodox Jewish man does every morning and that is to recite, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul and mind. Not, I will love you if you do this for me. In those moments when I do discipline myself to just love God expecting nothing in return, I find I do have the peace of God.  We find in II Corinthians 12:9 as Paul faced impending martyrdom in Rome, no future, no hope of being prosperous and having a simple life, retiring on some seashore to meditate and write, but faced with a life filled with hardships and poverty, he was able to say: “His grace is sufficient for me.”

We must realize that God doesn’t need our money, our service, and our good works. He owns the cattle on the thousand hills; he has a battery of angels to serve Him and good works?  It is no sweat off his back if we help a little old lady across the street; I mean He is fully capable of doing that Himself.

Yesterday as I was driving the bus for senior citizens and the disabled I was contemplating on just what I could give God that he does not already have or what He needs. He created me; everything I have comes from Him. To even give him a 10% tithe is like my dad giving me a dollar bill when I was five years old and telling me to buy my mother a nice birthday present and then spending ten cents on the birthday present and the rest on candy and comic books, for myself. There’s nothing I have that I can give to God that He does not already have, there is nothing I can give Him that He really needs. He doesn’t need me to drive this bus for seniors or disabled.  He has many ways to get Mildred to her foot doctor; He doesn’t need me to do it.  In my heart I cried out to God, “Is there anything I can give you that you cannot get for yourself?” At that moment my IPOD queued up to one of my old people songs, being sung by Nat King Cole called L O V E and I heard the words Love is all that I can give to you. That is the one and only thing I can give to God that He cannot get for Himself, for you cannot buy love, you cannot order one to love you, nor can you threaten with fear and intimidation to make someone love you, it is a gift that must be given voluntarily. Love is the only thing we can give to God that He cannot get for Himself.  He wants and craves our love so bad that He even sent His own Son to suffer and die on a cross hoping that maybe in His demonstration of this great act of His love, we might just give Him a little love in return.  When we are called to yasav (stand) before God like the sons of God in Job all we will have to offer Him is our allegiance and our love and that is all He really wants from us.