A Know-It-All (Lent) - Wednesday, March 14
"I know that my Redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand upon the earth."
Job 19:25 (NIV)
One of the biggest challenges, for an outsider who enters the reservation, is to not come across as a know-it-all.
Even though I entered at the gracious invitation of the Winnebago Tribal Council, who asked the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod to provide a worker who would share his or her faith with their children, this did not make the task at hand any easier. What can a white man teach the Ho-Chunk [Winnebago] tribal members about faith in God, without sounding like a know-it-all?
At times, the more I share the stories of Mauna [God] the more I catch myself being a know-it-all. I get excited when someone attends a church service or a Bible study and I get to tell them about Creator God and His beloved Son. Often times, I play right into their understanding that the ‘white man’ Christian talks about God, as opposed to the Native talking to God, as they are often taught. It is my humble calling to help those I serve to understand God's Word and hear Creator God speaking to them so they can be blessed to know Creator God as their Redeemer.
Now let's talk about a man who did know a thing or two. His name was Job. Job knew something about human nature and would sacrifice burnt offerings for his children, thinking “perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” More importantly, he knew God was merciful.
God allowed Satan to afflict Job, but he had to spare Job’s life. Job was afflicted with painful sores from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet. In the midst of his suffering, he utters these words: “I know that my Redeemer lives and that in the end, he will stand upon the earth.”
Job was blessed by God to know His redeemer, Jesus, who years later would rise victoriously from the grave. God’s Spirit instills faith in the hearts and minds as a blessed gift, to people of all ages, tribes, and languages. By the grace of God, Job knew all there was to know about one’s salvation by knowing Jesus as one’s Lord and Savior! I know that my Redeemer lives!
Dear Heavenly Father, send your Spirit into the hearts of those who hear and read your Sacred Word and instill faith in them so they would understand all there is to know, through knowing your Son as the Redeemer of the world. Amen.