Iron & Altar

"With an iron chisel and with lead they were cut in the rock forever." - Job 19:24

Brother, Job wants his testimony carved in stone. He asks for an iron chisel and lead so that what he says will not depend on anyone's memory. He has been accused, hounded, and explained at by his friends. His answer is to ask for a record.

A steward does the same with what was entrusted to him. He keeps a record. He writes down what he was given, what he did with it, and what came back. He does this because memory flatters. Left alone, a man remembers himself as more faithful than the ledger would show.

On Sunday the Church begins a month of asking what fruit our lives are bearing. The vineyard Gospel opens it, and All Saints closes it. Today is the doorway. The first question is not about fruit. It is about sight. Job says, "my own eyes, not another's, shall behold him." He does not settle for what he has heard.

Most men can repeat what they have heard about God. Fewer can point to a place they saw him act. If someone asked you tonight, you could probably quote a homily. Could you name a room, a date, a person, a moment when you saw God do something in your own life?

Take an index card tonight. Write one specific place you saw God act, not one you were told about. Give the place, the year, and one sentence. Keep the card. You will add two more before Saturday.

Lord, you have entrusted me with more than I have written down. Open my eyes to what I have already seen, and give me the honesty to record it. Amen.