Why does God allow suffering?
We need to begin by allowing for the possibility that God exists and that He has a plan for men and women on this earth that will ultimately benefit them. This plan talks of the future Kingdom of God on this earth in these terms -
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“They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” |
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“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert, the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water…” |
“He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” |
Jesus knew all about such Old Testament passages like the three from the prophet Isaiah we show above. But Jesus, like us, lived through less idyllic times than those predicted by Isaiah.
Jesus knew all about suffering – it was all around him. Jesus rubbed shoulders with the blind, the deaf and those who could not speak, with people who couldn’t walk, who had epilepsy and leprosy. He encountered people whose children had died.
Jesus came to a country that was occupied by a foreign power – the land of Israel was part of the Roman Empire. People were taxed by their Roman overlords and they hated it: most were worse off as a consequence.
Jesus performed many miracles of healing on poorly folk and that provided a foretaste of that future age of which Isaiah spoke.
To a woman who had suffered a discharge of blood for 12 years and had spent every last penny on trying to get made well but who then came to Jesus and was made instantly better Jesus said – “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease” (Mark 5 verse 34).
At much the same time there was a man named Jairus whose 12-year old daughter was about to die: Jairus came to Jesus imploring him to help. But before Jesus reached the girl others came to him saying that she was already dead. On hearing this Jesus said to Jairus – “Do not fear, only believe” (Mark 5 verse 36). The young girl was brought back to life by Jesus.
To the woman with the discharge of blood Jesus spoke of her faith, and to Jairus Jesus told him he needed to believe. Faith, belief – it’s the same thing. And we are told elsewhere in the Bible something which it is so important to remember –
Jesus knew all about suffering – it was all around him. Jesus rubbed shoulders with the blind, the deaf and those who could not speak, with people who couldn’t walk, who had epilepsy and leprosy. He encountered people whose children had died.
Jesus came to a country that was occupied by a foreign power – the land of Israel was part of the Roman Empire. People were taxed by their Roman overlords and they hated it: most were worse off as a consequence.
Jesus performed many miracles of healing on poorly folk and that provided a foretaste of that future age of which Isaiah spoke.
To a woman who had suffered a discharge of blood for 12 years and had spent every last penny on trying to get made well but who then came to Jesus and was made instantly better Jesus said – “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease” (Mark 5 verse 34).
At much the same time there was a man named Jairus whose 12-year old daughter was about to die: Jairus came to Jesus imploring him to help. But before Jesus reached the girl others came to him saying that she was already dead. On hearing this Jesus said to Jairus – “Do not fear, only believe” (Mark 5 verse 36). The young girl was brought back to life by Jesus.
To the woman with the discharge of blood Jesus spoke of her faith, and to Jairus Jesus told him he needed to believe. Faith, belief – it’s the same thing. And we are told elsewhere in the Bible something which it is so important to remember –
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“…without faith it is impossible to please him (God), for whoever would draw near to God must believe He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him” |
Remember the story Jesus told about the Good Samaritan? You can read it in Luke 10 verses 25 – 37.
In summary a traveller gets beaten up and left for dead by some robbers on the infamous Jerusalem to Jericho road. Two other people come along but decide not to get involved.
A third man arrives at the scene: he is a “foreigner”, a Samaritan who many Jews had no time for. He takes care of the injured man and, if you read the story you will see he performs no less than ten acts of kindness to the individual who had been attacked.
That is faith in action. The Samaritan’s faith meant despite the dangers he could not ignore the poorly man. His faith impelled him to show Christ-like love and compassion because he believed that is what his God would want him to do. The Good Samaritan saw the events on the Jericho Road not as a threat but an opportunity.
Now think about another situation, and perhaps one with which you are less familiar. It concerns the apostle Paul, a disciple of Jesus who converted to Christianity from Judaism. Paul wrote many of the letters that form our New Testament. But Paul had a particular problem which he calls a “thorn in the flesh” an expression that is sometimes used today to describe something or somebody that annoys us that we can’t get seem to get rid of! You can read of Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” in 2 Corinthians 12 verses 1 – 10.
Now Paul was a very clever man and he could have easily become rather big-headed. Paul tells us that he prayed three times that whatever or whoever this “thorn” was might it be done away with. But the problem didn’t go away. Instead he is told in a revelation from the Lord – “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12 verse 9). And at that point the penny drops. Paul now understands that this is a positive not a negative in his life. Having to cast himself on the Lord for help to cope with the problem of “the thorn” means he is now more ready to trust in God’s help and less inclined to trust in his own supposed strength. He is more the man of faith than he would have otherwise been.
Both the examples of the Good Samaritan and the apostle Paul could have only come about in a world in which suffering exists. Jesus never tried to fob anyone off with excuses about the nasty things that exist in this present world: he just accepted them and showed us how to live despite them.
To the man or woman of faith this present life is not the end-game: it is, though, the preparation for the end game. We may think things unfair, unreasonable – “it should happen to me”, but like it or not we do not set the agenda.
In the Kingdom of God to come upon the earth at the return of Jesus ultimately the nasty things will become things of the past – read again those quotations at the start of this piece. Whether or not we have the faith to believe it will determine whether we will be there. And please try to remember that quotation from the epistle to the Hebrews:
In summary a traveller gets beaten up and left for dead by some robbers on the infamous Jerusalem to Jericho road. Two other people come along but decide not to get involved.
A third man arrives at the scene: he is a “foreigner”, a Samaritan who many Jews had no time for. He takes care of the injured man and, if you read the story you will see he performs no less than ten acts of kindness to the individual who had been attacked.
That is faith in action. The Samaritan’s faith meant despite the dangers he could not ignore the poorly man. His faith impelled him to show Christ-like love and compassion because he believed that is what his God would want him to do. The Good Samaritan saw the events on the Jericho Road not as a threat but an opportunity.
Now think about another situation, and perhaps one with which you are less familiar. It concerns the apostle Paul, a disciple of Jesus who converted to Christianity from Judaism. Paul wrote many of the letters that form our New Testament. But Paul had a particular problem which he calls a “thorn in the flesh” an expression that is sometimes used today to describe something or somebody that annoys us that we can’t get seem to get rid of! You can read of Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” in 2 Corinthians 12 verses 1 – 10.
Now Paul was a very clever man and he could have easily become rather big-headed. Paul tells us that he prayed three times that whatever or whoever this “thorn” was might it be done away with. But the problem didn’t go away. Instead he is told in a revelation from the Lord – “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12 verse 9). And at that point the penny drops. Paul now understands that this is a positive not a negative in his life. Having to cast himself on the Lord for help to cope with the problem of “the thorn” means he is now more ready to trust in God’s help and less inclined to trust in his own supposed strength. He is more the man of faith than he would have otherwise been.
Both the examples of the Good Samaritan and the apostle Paul could have only come about in a world in which suffering exists. Jesus never tried to fob anyone off with excuses about the nasty things that exist in this present world: he just accepted them and showed us how to live despite them.
To the man or woman of faith this present life is not the end-game: it is, though, the preparation for the end game. We may think things unfair, unreasonable – “it should happen to me”, but like it or not we do not set the agenda.
In the Kingdom of God to come upon the earth at the return of Jesus ultimately the nasty things will become things of the past – read again those quotations at the start of this piece. Whether or not we have the faith to believe it will determine whether we will be there. And please try to remember that quotation from the epistle to the Hebrews:
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“…without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.” |
