Is God worthy to be King?

Would to ever take the responsibility for something you didn’t do?

I remember the first time I really read Job all the way through. I went on my first spiritual retreat. I took 24hr and went to retreat center. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with myself for a whole 24hr, but it was a class assignment so I went. I brought everything I could think of; books, guitar, bible, journal, a car full. I was leafing through my bible trying to figure out where I wanted to read. I came across the book of Job and began to read and read and read. I read the whole book strait through.

What a mess of images and messages came swirling through. The accusations and explanations of the friends the laments of Job, I didn’t know how to interpret them. Finally I came across the last chapter, chapter 41. God overwhelmed Job. Having seen him now not just heard of him, Job falls on his face in worship and repentance realizing the scope of things he does not comprehend.

Then God says something unexpected. He is angry with Job’s friends because they did not speak rightly about God as his servant Job had. My mind raced back through what I had read about what Job said about God. The arrows of the almighty are in me. God is bringing this affliction on me. His friends were blaming everything thing on some hidden sin of Job and saying God was punishing him. Job was saying God was simply bringing the affliction on him and he didn’t know why.

But wait a minute, the beginning of the book says the devil is doing it all??? How can Job be right about God???

I went for a walk, I put down my bible and went for a walk out to the lake. It was dark the moon was out shining its reflected light across the surface of the water. It was really quite beautiful. I walked down to the edge of the lake with all of the thoughts of Job swimming around in my mind. Finally clarity broke through.

God was not the active agent in the suffering Job experienced the devil was, this is plainly stated in the first two chapters of the book. But if God is sovereign, if God is really in charge over all, then he is still responsible for the affliction upon Job. God allowed it therefore he is responsible and he accepts the responsibility in affirming that Job was right about him.

This goes even farther though. We are in a world right now with a large deal of affliction and suffering, much of it caused by our own hands. The acts of sin we commit that hurt other people is running rampant. Here’s the thing, God is still sovereign! He is still allowing all of this to happen. Therefore he must take ultimate responsibility for it.

He did...

On the cross...

Even though God is not the active agent in sin, he still takes ultimate responsibility for it because he could have stopped it at any time. So he becomes man in Jesus Christ takes the responsibility for the sin of the world upon himself and suffers the consequences in dying on the cross.

Only one who is willing to take the responsibility for the actions of his subjects is worthy to be called king! And God did just that and he is king of kings and lord of lords. I wouldn’t want anyone else as sovereign of this world or of this life.

May we come to deeply understand the wait of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross today and see in it the fullness of God’s worthiness to be sovereign.