I only met Rueben Job once and it was very brief. He was bishop of the Iowa Conference (for The United Methodist Church) and I was doing an internship in the Iowa Conference offices and the meeting happened in 1989 or so. My supervisor arranged the meeting and she also gave me one of Bishop Job’s devotionals as a college graduation gift. For that, I will always be grateful because I have used Bishop Job’s devotionals every day for the last 24 ½ years. His writings and guidance have helped me immensely over that time through moments of sheer angst and loneliness and moments of pure joy and grace. His passing yesterday has me feeling as if I’ve lost a family member.
I wrote the following blog post in November 2010 as part of our church’s e-newsletter. It got forwarded to him by friends of his and he mailed me three copies of his devotional. One was inscribed: “For Christian Coon, with gratitude and admiration. Rueben Job” It’s a treasured possession and so I mourn his death today while also expressing my own gratitude and admiration for this man who had a huge impact on so many.
I was in a bit of a hurry on Tuesday morning and didn’t give myself enough time to be in prayer so I tried to meditate on the Green Line. It actually was going quite well. My eyes were closed. I was repeating, “Love the Lord your God with all your strength…” to myself. And then someone tapped me on the shoulder.
“Can I see that?” the woman said. I was holding the book I use for my devotions (“When You Pray,” edited by Rueben Job) and the woman asked if she could take a look at it. I said sure and she started flipping through it, commenting on how she needs to pray more. As she was looking at it, I had a strong sense that God wanted me to give the book to her. I also was thinking, “But I really like that book!” You can buy them for $10, but I had a sentimental attachment to it. I decided, though, to go with the nudge from God.
“Would you like to have it?” I asked her. She smiled and graciously said yes. We talked some more. She was to go to court that day and said that this was an answer to prayer. She asked my name. I gave her my card, invited her to church, and she got off at the next stop.
We’re spending some time at Urban Village talking about giving, particularly how we can give financially. It’s not an easy discussion. It’s tempting to hold onto our money pretty closely. But God sometimes nudges us to give something away in order for someone else to draw closer to God. Over the next couple of weeks, pray about what you might be willing to give. God might be nudging you in surprising ways.