Charles R. Swindoll - Great Lives: Job: A Man of Heroic Endurance

T he scarcity of heroes has troubled me for years. I am not alone. Friends I have, others I meet, and authors I read agree that the ranks of heroes have gotten remarkably thin. Whether it is because the cynics of this age take delight in highlighting the most insignificant flaws of the famous or because those whom we once admired from a distance failed to pass the more exacting litmus tests of close examination or because the public has simply wearied of the fallen-hero syndrome, even the idea of calling someone our hero has come into disfavor in todays culture. A malaise of fear over finding some hidden fact that discredits the one being admired has robbed the trust once placed in others.

Nevertheless, I am still convinced we need heroes. The imperfections of humanity notwithstanding, our hearts hunger to be stimulated by examples of great character being modeled in everyday life. We are fortified by exemplary lives, especially those who have earned the right to be respected by their character, sacrifice, patience, and ability to press on in spite of hardship, injustice, pain, and failure. Our heroes do not have to be perfect. They must, however be courageous, authentic, clear-minded, and determined to endure no matter the sacrifice or cost. We need heroes of integrity and consistency, admirable men and women we can admire, not because they exemplify a quick burst of bravery, but because they represent the stuff of greatness and stay at it to the end. Finishing strong is a vital part of standing tall. By having that great cloud of witnesses urging us on, were better able to endure.

Peter Gibbon, in his splendid work, A Call to Heroism, agrees:

I cannot imagine a world without heroes, a world without genius and nobility, without exalted enterprise, high purpose, and transcendent courage, without risk and suffering. It would be gray and flat and dull. Who would show us the way or set the mark? Who would inspire us and console us? Who would energize us and keep us from the darkness?

Realizing the ever-present importance of models of greatness we can trust, back around the turn of the century I began writing a series of books based on the lives of selected men and women whose biographies appear in the pages of the Bible. I called the series Great Lives from Gods Word. During the past four years I have released six volumes. The response has been wonderfully gratifying. If you have journeyed with me through these profiles in character, you will remember the lives we have examined together:

David: A Man of Passion and Destiny
Esther: A Woman of Strength and Dignity
Joseph: A Man of Integrity and Forgiveness
Moses: A Man of Selfless Dedication
Elijah: A Man of Heroism and Humility
Paul: A Man of Grace and Grit

During the past year I have discovered another hero tucked away in the biblical text. He was neither hidden nor obscure, but I had never realized how significant he was until I began a thorough investigation of who he was and what he endured. He appears rather boldly in the ancient book that bears his name, but since most of his story is so full of pain and loss, humiliation and hardship as he suffers through a debilitating illness and a heated, lengthy debate with several of his friends, most of us have not taken the time to examine his life in depth. A quick glance at his circumstances leaves the reader heartbroken and confused. In most minds, Job is a pathetic study in tragedylittle more than a helpless victim of unfair treatment rather than a man of enormous endurance.

On the contrary, a careful examination of the mans lifeespecially his response to the painful experiences that assaulted his once peaceful and God-honoring existencewill convince us that this is another hero with character qualities worth emulating.