Menu versus the Meal

Rabbi Harold Kushner spoke in Minneapolis on dealing with grief and loss in October. Minnesota Public Radio rebroadcast the event as a response to the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary. Kushner’s talk was about coping with hard times and the lessons that can be learned from the Bible’s book of Job. His newest best seller is “The Book of Job: When Bad Things Happened to a Good Person. You may listen to the rebroadcast at http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2012/12/17/mpr_news_presents/?refid=0.

Kushner did a remarkable overview of the book and I was impacted by his words about Job coming to a deeper understanding about God. Through Job’s grief, Job moves from knowing about God to knowing God.

Job 42:5
My ears had heard of You
    but now my eyes have seen you.

Kushner compared it to the difference between reading the menu to eating the meal. The menu tells you about the meal, but cannot compare to the reality of tasting the meal. Job knew about God and he knew pretty thoroughly about God. His grief and struggle to understand moves Job from knowing about God to having a relationship with God. He does not have all his questions answered, but Job meets God and that is all that matters.

Reading the Bible is important. It is a good menu describing God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. God reveals Himself through the Bible. It cannot compare with having a relationship with God.

So what can you do that Job did to know God?
1. Stay with God through good times and bad times.
2. Talk honestly to God.
3. Listen for His response.

Psalms 34:8
Taste and see that the Lord is good;
    blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.

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