Today, one of the most popular questions asked about theology is “If God is so good, why does He allow people to suffer?” Here’s another. “Is there really a God and does He care?” There are times when even the strongest of believers ask themselves these things or have a bit of doubt about it. The World offers hurt. Tragedy, no matter the type, happens, and instead of leaning on God for assurance and spiritual support, we question Him and focus more on OUR hurt than anything else.
When we question God’s morality, we must be intentional about keeping our own morality in view and in check. God is an omnipotent being. Incomprehensible to say the least. On the other hand, we can investigate our own ethics and moral standards in a spiritual sense to perceive how we are missing the mark. This is identified as free will. “The possession of free will does not entail an ability not to sin, since human freedom is shaped and limited by human character.”[1] What does this mean? We can make all the conscious decisions in the world that we think are good, but we still have the capacity to sin regardless. Why? A fallen world and a fallen state. Sin entered the world from one mistake that we all must suffer from.
So, how can a God who created everything good not create a world without sin? “The answer is that he did, according to Genesis 1 and 2. Evil’s source is not God’s power but man’s freedom. Then why didn’t God create a world without human freedom? Because that would have been a world without humans, a world without hate but also without love. Love too proceeds only from free will.”[2] God gave humankind the ability to choose freely; our reaction did not match His sovereign nature. God is the ultimate authority. He inherently has the right to expect His creation, made in His own image, to adhere to these principles of Moral Law. The summary of the Moral Law is loving God while loving others. The evil in the world that we live in does not operate within this parameter, so it creates havoc. Life without free will is not being human; it is being a machine. The misuse of free will introduced what God hates. Disease. Wrongdoing. Deceit. Hatred. Murder. Death. God does not condone this, so God renders justice against it all according to His sovereignty and will. That is what some fail to see and understand.
So, with the allowance of free will and choice comes sin and turmoil. How does suffering lead to moral development and Christian values that create a sinless (as much as possible) nature? It can create humility that opens a person’s heart to God and helps them seek the missing security. King Solomon, the wisest man of all, delivers a message that states God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil (Ecclesiastes 12:14, ESV). God will judge according to our good and our bad.
Compassion is a byproduct of suffering that we find in our lives. We can now understand others’ pain just as we feel ours. God shows us love, and we show the same love to those who need it. As a community, we comfort others (2 Corinthians 2:14, ESV). Our perseverance, in turn, is shaped by our trials. Suffering builds our perseverance, which builds our Christian values and grace-filled love, while increasing our hope. Hope. This Christian hope grows when we see that our pain and suffering mean nothing if we do not learn from them. We learned that God’s plan is built on hope and trust.
“What is God’s answer to the problem of man’s suffering? It is a person—Jesus—on a cross. Christ on the cross—that is God’s answer to the problem of pain and suffering.”[3] Trusting in God’s ultimate plan is the key to enduring evil in the world and guiding others through it as a community of His people.
The apologist C.S. Lewis states, “We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” [4]Be blessed.
[1] C. Stephen Evans, Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), 47.
[2] Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli, Pocket Handbook of Christian Apologetics, The IVP Pocket Reference Series (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2003), 51.
[3] Paul Gould, Travis Dickinson, and Keith Loftin, Stand Firm: Apologetics and the Brilliance of the Gospel (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2018), 161.
[4] C. S Lewis, The Problem of Pain. (Québec: Horizon Ridge Publishing, 2020), 69. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=31592859.
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