Why is light given to toilers
and life to the bitter in spirit?
"Why do these painful things happen to me?" and "What did I do to deserve this?" Are these not sentiments you have heard or even expressed yourself when a tsunami of challenges overcome your life or the lives of others.?
So what can we gather for ourselves form this thought from the Book of Job? What is the meaning of life and light in this one sentence? Most scholars see this sentence as a reminder to us that the grace of God is a teacher to us that while we may live a life that has its blessings, it comforts, we should not be unwilling to accept sacrifices that demand we die to some part of our selves and our desires. Likewise graes are given to us to learn that should we be burdened by heavy challenges, we should be willing to live through these burdens even when death itself might seem easier.
The lives of saint so often are a lived out experience of these words from Job. They may remind us to be willing to sacrifice some of our abundance (in any form) or to accept willingly the sacrifices hat are so painful. This is the kind of calling God gives to those who seek to accept suffering as a sharing in the life and light of his son.
