“The Problem of Evil and Pain,” in its many forms, is the
most common objection to the Christian faith. Here is one recent statement of
this challenge:
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There is no reason that a good and all-powerful
God would allow such great suffering if He is truly a God of love. If He is
all-powerful, he could do something about it
Today, we are being bombarded many such varieties of this
challenge. For instance, if God is all-powerful and all-knowing, He could
easily have stopped the CoronaVirus, Hitler, Hurricane Sandy, or a Tsunami. He
even guarantees that in heaven, He will wipe away every tear. He’s got the
power, and He loves us.
Why then does He allow various kinds of suffering, even
death? Because it is necessary! A complete answer may not be possible, but I
think that we know enough to answer this challenge.
The larger question is, “Why did He allow the Fall and sin
and death to enter into the world? Why did He allow Satan to operate in the
Garden through the serpent?” Because He wanted to achieve something greater:
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Romans 11:32-33 For God has committed them all
to disobedience [by allowing Adam and Eve to sin], that He might have mercy on
all. Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How
unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
God handed this world over to corruption, but in the
expectation of something even greater:
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Romans 8:18, 20--23 For I consider that the
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory
which shall be revealed in us…For the creation was subjected to futility
[corruption and decay], not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in
hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of
corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that
the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not
only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we
ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the
redemption of our body.
It could only be
through the Fall of the first Adam that we could receive the redemption and the
gift of life through the Second Adam, Jesus, whose Cross had been planned even
before the world was created.
Perhaps the best way to demonstrate that suffering is necessary is to use myself as an example. I’ve learned that I need to suffer threats and emotional torments. Without them, I’d never have learned to trust in God. Instead, I would continue to trust in my own ways and thinking:
Perhaps the best way to demonstrate that suffering is necessary is to use myself as an example. I’ve learned that I need to suffer threats and emotional torments. Without them, I’d never have learned to trust in God. Instead, I would continue to trust in my own ways and thinking:
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2 Corinthians 1:8-9 For we do not want you to be ignorant,
brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond
measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the
sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in
God who raises the dead.
Even more important, I would never learn to love God without
suffering and seeing my own failures and inadequacies. It is only after I am
continually humbled and broken that He shows me His goodness by repeatedly delivering
me:
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Psalm 34:18-19) The LORD is near to those who
have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the
afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all.
The trials also bring to the surface all of my fleshly
ugliness and show me how unworthy I am of even a smile from God (Luke 17:10).
Yet His many rescues teach me how much He loves me despite my unworthiness. This
is what it means to experience the trials of our faith:
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…you have been grieved by various trials, that
the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that
perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory
at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:6-7)
As gold is refined in the cauldron by fire, so that the impurities
rise to the surface, so too is our faith refined. Suffering brings our sinful
impulses to the surface to humble us and to show us the goodness of God that He
would love such an unworthy person as me.
Consequently, I become more grateful and seek to glorify God
even more than myself. Consequently, the Bible teaches us that when we are weak
and broken, it is then we are strong in the Lord (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). As a
result, a real and eternal love relationship grows. No wonder our Savior
requires us to suffer:
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2 Corinthians 4:8-11 (NLT2) We are pressed on
every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not
driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get
knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue
to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in
our bodies. Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus,
so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies.
The suffering is preparing us for something greater:
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2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NKJV) Therefore we do not
lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is
being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment,
is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do
not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.
For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen
are eternal.
I am convinced that God is working all of these evils for
good (Romans 8:28) to build, with us, an eternal relationship of the deepest
love.
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