THE STORY OF JOB

There is an enduring resonance to the book of Job. In this story, it’s not just that the explanations themselves aren’t helpful, it’s that the very idea of trying to explain suffering is pointless. That’s why you struggle with the story- the good that comes Job’s way at the end can’t begin to make up for the loss he’s endured. He’ll never be the same again. He may be grateful and he may enjoy his life again and he may have another family and he may find love again but he will carry the scars with him for the rest of his life. Why has this story endured? Because this is how life is. No matter how much good comes your way after you’ve suffered, no matter how much you make peace with your past, you still walk with a limp. Suffering has no explanation and no matter how much we heal and move on, it shapes us in innumerable ways.  

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The Story of Ruth in the Old Testament, at face value may seem like an odd story to be studying through during the Lenten season. But if we think about what Lent really is, this season of doing without, the book of Ruth syncs up with it beautifully. Lent is a season where we lose something to find something. The Story of Ruth could be summed up the same. The major characters in this story lose it all, and by the end, they find something even greater, something that they didn’t even know that they were looking for at the beginning.

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