“When God gets excited about his sons, he wants to send them into battle. He sends his sons into the fray. ‘This is my son!’ he announces proudly, and then he sends him to face Satan.’This is my son!’ and he sends him to battle demons. ‘This is my son!” He sends him t o face false accusations, to be mocked, spat upon, and beaten to a bloody pulp. When God loves his sons, he sends them into battle. If God did not spare his own Son in his love, how much more so will he love all of his beloved sons. His love is not aimless; it is not sadistic. His love rejoices in the glory that comes after the battle, the glory of victory, and preeminently the glory of communion with him.” (Pastor Toby Sumpter in Job Through New Eyes: A Son for Glory)
In this section of Pastor Sumpter’s book he is answering the question, “Why did God point Job out to Satan?” The scene disturbs us. Satan comes to God and God puts a big bull’s eye on Job’s back (Job 1:8). We look at that and say, “I hope God never does that to me.” “I hope I never reach the status of blameless and upright or God might send Satan my way.” I like Pastor Sumpter’s answer to this dilemma. Job is a good, God-honoring man. But that is not enough. God wants to move Job from “good” to “very good.” God delights in Job and therefore God sends him to the front lines. Job is a righteous man so God kicks him out of the nest. Job is like Christ: a true, faithful son who must suffer.
No thought from this book struck me like this one. I have six sons. I want them to seek glory, the glory that a faithful servant of God gets. I want them to delight their Father in Heaven. I want them to walk by the Spirit and trust in Christ. But like so many fathers, I do not want them to suffer. I don’t want them to go through what Job went through. I do not want them to be mocked, hated, despised, suffering. I do not want to see them in pain. I do not want them to lose what they hold dear. I do not want them to wallow in dust and ashes. In short, I want them to take the Devil’s bargain in the wilderness: glory, but no cross (Luke 4:5-7).
Fathers, if we are to raise sons like the Son then we must send them into battle. We must watch them suffer, bleed, and die. We must not live in fear. We must not hide them. We must not shield them from the world, the flesh, and the Devil. Too many fathers do this, especially homeschooling fathers. Instead, we must give our sons the tools, the weapons to fight. We should put a sword their hand and tell them, “Son if you want to be like Jesus you must fight, suffer, bleed, and die, but in the end you will be raised.” We must love them enough to send into the fray. If we delight in our sons then we will rejoice when they enter the battle.<>
Well said