Sometimes
life hurts. Sometimes the pain is really intense. Sometimes the pain is
physical. The worst pain is mental, and the worst of the worst is when you feel
betrayed by the one closest to you. There is no salve, no anesthetic, nor any
kind of pain relief that will relieve the pain of a broken heart.
Whatever you
and I may be feeling, the truth is with little consolation we are not the first
nor will we be the last to go through intense suffering and pain. When we ask
the question why we have to go through this stuff, we generally get lame
answers from those around us and silence from God. Again there is little
comfort in knowing others have gone through this before.
One of the
most famous stories in the Bible deals with unexpected and seemingly undeserved
suffering: why do bad things happen to good people. Job, the main character of
the story, has a firm faith in God. He accepts the belief God is control of all
things, yet like all of us, he wants to know why the pain has come.
Job 1:21 And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and
naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be
the name of the LORD."
Job
willingly admits that good things come from God and so can be as easily removed
by God. His ultimate question of why is there suffering finally resolves into
the simple desire to face the One who is in control and then accept whatever
answer is given.
The Apostle
Paul does not so much seek an answer to the question of why bad things happen
to good people as much as he asks for the strength to survive in faithfulness
the times in which he lives. For him there is the vision, the goal, of a better
life that is far beyond anything this world forces on the individual.
Rom 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are
not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
The
sinfulness to which this world has surrendered is the root of all suffering for
people, both the good and the not so good. As long as people follow destructive
moral patterns in which the desires of the individual are placed ahead of the
plans of God, then suffering will result. Because all of us are born with that
inclination to go our own way and do our own thing regardless of the plans of
God, suffering will be a part of our lives. Even the innocent will suffer
because they live in a world that follows self-destructive patterns.
If we cannot
escape the pain and suffering, what is our option? In the long term we keep our
eyes on a future where the control of God will be complete. There will be no
inclination to self-destructive actions. Pain and suffering will be experiences
no longer faced. The best of this world will disappear in the glory of what
will constitute the new reality.
In the short
term while we wait for that glorious future, we try to create an imperfect
image of it in our present world. We live out the nature of Christ exemplified
by his life, his decisions, and his priorities. When we seek to live as Christ
in the midst of society, we make the Kingdom of God real to those around us.
To love God
with all that is a part of us is also to love his creation and all its
creatures. We love our neighbors regardless of differences as God has loved us.
When we live a life that imitates Christ, we announce through our actions pain
and suffering do not rule us even though we experience them. We may not
understand the why, but God’s love for us is not limited by our lack of
understanding. We can live through the suffering even as we wait for the time
when all suffering will be no more.
