Why do you love God? Do you love Him because of all the good things He can provide for you? Health, wealth, happiness, to name a few of the things that are sold as the reason to become a Christian. “Jesus saved me and my life has been wonderful ever since” is a sales pitch, not reality. Maybe Job will curse God if only bad things come his way.

But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” Job 1:11 ESV

The Slanderer

The slanderer comes before God and argues that Job loves God only because God has given him all the blessings one might want in this life. If God does bad things to Job, then Job will hate Him and as Satan claims will curse God to His face.

Satan views Job’s affection for God as purely transactional: “You are good to me and I will be good to you. If you do bad to me, I will do bad to you.” The world often operates this way. But is this how those who truly love God see Him?

God’s Grace Flows

God could heal everyone who trusts in Him. He could make wealthy all who follow after Him. But He does not. In fact, Jesus tells us that both the good and the bad receive the sun and the rain. Good men and bad men are blessed by the general grace of God. It even seems that the wicked often flourish with power and wealth while the humble servant of God remains poor in this life.

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. Matthew 5:44-45 ESV

The Accuser

The accuser standing before God, the one who seeks to destroy all God has made, forgot something important about his own selfish desires. This life was already made temporary by God. Death is coming for us, and our hope is not in this life.

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 2 Corinthians 5:6-9 ESV

Satan has no such hope. His end has already been written. He has been condemned and wants to curse God to His face. So what will happen when Satan is allowed to afflict Job? Does Job love God because of all the good things God has done for him, or does Job love God for reasons beyond material blessings in this life?

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. Hebrews 11:13 ESV

God is the Redeemer

What did the saints of old have faith in? In what far-off promise did they hold out hope? The church word for the answer is glorification. Glorification means that those who love God no matter the circumstances in this life will be with Him in heaven. We will be resurrected into an uncorrupted body, free from the life of sin and shame, and we will enjoy unhindered fellowship with the Creator God who made us and loves us.

Job gets the last word in the matter. In the depth of anguish he never lost sight of his love for God. Even though it felt as if God had cursed him in that moment, he still hoped in the future salvation and glorification.

“But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last. ²⁶ And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God!  ²⁷ I will see him for myself. Yes, I will see him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed at the thought! Job 19:25-27 NLT