Repayment

Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.
Job 41:11
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Repayment
God asks a question to Job that we all would do well to remember. “Who has first given to me, that I should repay him?” In other words, what have we done for God that He owes us something? The answer should be clear, we have done nothing that would put God in debt to us. We have no right to sit in judgment of God as if we somehow have the moral high ground. We are the creature He is the Creator. As St. Paul tells us, “But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, ‘Why have you made me like this?’” (Romans 9:20) Because we don’t always understand God’s ways and His will in our lives does not mean there is a fault in Him. We don’t understand because we cannot completely understand God. Job didn’t understand the reason for his affliction, we often don’t understand our suffering or the pain and suffering we see in our world. But our lack of understanding does not equate to a deficiency in God’s plan. God owes us nothing, and we dare not demand payment from God as if He is indebted to us. When we find ourselves thinking this way we need to look to the cross. There we will see the payment we were owed. On the cross, we see God’s will for sin and His plan for our lives. The death that was ours Christ took, the sin which we should have paid for Jesus made atonement for. Thanks be to God that He has done this marvelous thing and not repaid us what we are owed.