The Same Love: John and Job

Two men, each with a book of the bible named for him, one was “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” one of the inner three. The other was, in God’s own words, “blameless, and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”
John was a typical, hard-working fisherman at the Sea of Galilee when Jesus called him to leave his profession and be His disciple. He became one of the inner three, closest to the Master along with Peter and James. The bible says he often reclined on Jesus’s bosom. He even referred to himself as one whom Jesus loved four times in the New Testament book that bears his name. He witnessed miracles–even the raising of a child from the dead. Jesus asked him to care for his own mother while he hung on the cross.He was the only one of the twelve to die a natural death at an old age. Any student of God’s Word must agree that John was special to Jesus. While he did suffer persecution and imprisonment, he was spared execution and he was favored to be asked to care for Mary after Jesus’s death. What might the other disciples, whom Jesus also loved and called to service, have thought about this special one? It may have seemed at times that he was loved more than the others…

Job was a man of means. The bible says that he was prosperous. He had a wife, children, servants, land, and livestock. He was also a loyal servant to God, which seemed to get him into much trouble! Satan decided to accuse him before his God, Who told the accuser that there was no one else like Job on the earth. Then, God allowed Satan to bring great loss to Job. His children, servants, land… all were taken, and Job fell ill with a painful disease. For 42 chapters in the Old Testament it played out. Job questioned God, looked for where he had sinned, and endured the agony of his accusing “friends.” What a different path was chosen for him than for the apostle John! It may have seemed that he was not as loved as others…

When we begin our personal relationship with God and His Son, we begin a journey of knowing both our Savior and our Creator. As our relationship grows, we experience God’s love and that of our Savior over and over. As life goes forward, we become more secure, steadfast in that love. This is crucial for us because life’s circumstances are unpredictable, and like Job and John we will not walk the same path as those around us. Both of these men knew that God loved them, that they belonged to Him, and that they could trust Him with their circumstances. Their hope was in Him.

Do you ever look around and wonder why you’re experiencing something like the trial of Job, and others seem to be reclining at the Master’s feet in peace, like John? Feelings of confusion, sorrow, and fear are familiar acquaintances. In those times, it comforts me to remember Jesus, and his sufferings on earth for mankind. He above all knows our sorrow and is familiar with our grief. And Job, in the middle of 42 chapters of trials said it best in chapter 19, verse 25: “Though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him.”

Many years ago, the Lord led me to read the books of Job and John together. I gained a new understanding of God’s love in view of life’s circumstances, and it has been to my great benefit. Like Job, I know that my Redeemer lives, and like John, I know that He loves me–regardless of what may surround me.