18 (Job Reference)

When you apply for a job, you need a ref­er­ence. Usu­ally this is some­one in a posi­tion of author­ity, and some­one who knows you quite well. If they agree to be your ref­er­ence, it means they’re will­ing to praise you up and down when they’re called by your poten­tial boss. I’ve had the chance to be a ref­er­ence for some of the Youth at Dou­glas Men­non­ite Church, and it’s a fun expe­ri­ence. You get to tell some­one about how much you like some­one, expound­ing on all their awe­some traits.

Now pic­ture a dif­fer­ent set­ting: instead of two peo­ple con­vers­ing over the phone, it’s the Almighty and the Devil stand­ing in the same room. They’re hav­ing a con­fer­ence. And before you even know it, the Almighty brings up your name. For some rea­son, you get a glimpse into this moment. Me? You whis­per, Why’d you have to bring up lit­tle ol’ me? Fear runs straight to your toes — you’re wor­ried about the biggest and most valu­able ref­er­ence you’ve ever had.

A char­ac­ter ref­er­ence from the Almighty.

Rec­og­nize the sce­nario? Maybe you do, maybe you don’t. Here’s what the Almighty had to say about a char­ac­ter whose name, coin­ci­den­tally, is Job. “Have you con­sid­ered my ser­vant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blame­less and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

If Job had any idea what was going on in the hal­lowed halls of heaven, I’m sure his jaw would have dropped. Lit­tle ol’ me? he might have asked. I mean, I know I try my best…

That’s pos­si­bly the best ref­er­ence I’ve ever heard, and it just so hap­pens to be from the char­ac­ter wit­ness that knows Job like no other.

Put your name here: “Have you con­sid­ered my ser­vant ______?”

What comes next?

Tak­ing Heart,

Paul Loewen