Chapter 8 - Why is there Suffering? Part Two
In the first segment regarding the question, “Why is there suffering?” I focused primarily on how suffering reminded us of our need for God. In this chapter we are going to review a few additional points that are often overlooked.
We begin by asking, “Is God involved in every aspect of His creation?” Yes, absolutely! The apostle Paul tells us that Jesus is holding all things together (see Colossians 1:17), I believe that explains some of the greatest mysteries science still struggles with. One in particular comes to mind regarding molecular structures is, how does the atom stay together? Could that mean that Jesus is holding every molecule together? That puts Jesus in a whole different light doesn’t it? As previously discussed, science doesn’t like an easy answer, so far science can only postulate. But science has helped “peel back” some of those “below the surface” workings (in other words those not-so-obvious things) about this world we live in, such as the various laws of physics, thermodynamics, and other properties that regulate physical existence. Can something that was created be both supernaturally influenced and yet be regulated by a physical law? Would it be difficult to imagine a God that can create something out of nothing to create the necessary forces and governing laws to sustain that creation? Once in place, life can be added to the creation and existence begins. God could still intervene and change an outcome if necessary, but for the most part the creation would be governed by the various laws and forces that were also created.
So, what does this mean? Here is one example to consider. If a driver of a bus that is full of people is driving along a wet road and loses control of the bus and crashes, whose fault is it? One could ask several questions such as, was the driver going too fast? Or, was the driver distracted? But what many people think in a tragic scenario such as this, “Why did God let that happen?” Yes, God could have prevented the crash. So, why didn’t He? Something caused the crash, right? Here is a short list of possibilities: bus was indeed going too fast, tires were worn, poor judgment by the driver, inexperienced driver, maintenance oversight, etc. Note we have imperfect people interacting with a system of physical laws put into motion shortly after being cursed. Why imperfect and cursed? Sin! (Read Genesis 3:1-24) If God intervened every time to prevent a tragedy there would be no doubt of His existence. One could be a notoriously bad driver but yet always be safe. Having a reliable “safety net” would soon develop into a strong faith and belief in God, knowing that God regardless of situation, conditions, mental status, etc., would keep you safe, would that be true faith? No, that would encourage complacent reliance (like believing another law of physics) rather than a trusting relationship. Of course I have to add, how long would it take before someone would complain that they had no freedom of will? What if the person wanted to be different or rebel and act recklessly?
Going back to the concept that God set into motion everything from planetary motion for gravity and time keeping to the perfect mix or gasses for breathing. With all the fine-tuned variables that make up a balanced creation, what should happen if an oil spill occurred on the ocean, a nuclear war caused radiation to spread, a major brush fire devastated a large community, or the air got so polluted? Should God intervene and stop what humans have done to prevent damage to His creation? While we might be tempted to say, “Well that would be nice.” We can see that would not be feasible either. Why not? For one, that would negate true faith, again if God intervened to prevent any damage to His creation (both the animate and inanimate), we would not likely develop a close relationship with our Savior.
Next we look at why is the question of the existence of God so important? We see that there is a potentially deliberate difference between the subtle evidence of God (such as intelligent design, the many fine-balances of forces found in the universe, etc.) and the unquestionable and undeniable (or plainly obvious) evidence that there is a God (such as plain to see interventions, regular interactions, etc.) Am I saying that God is deliberately hiding? No, not hiding per se, but He is certainly not making it too easy, but evidence of His existence can be found by the diligent observer. The apostle Paul wrote: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” (Romans 1:18-21) Paul is saying that people who reject God and His plan for salvation will remain unrighteous and will receive the wrath of God. Why? Because they saw the evidence of His existence through creation and still rejected Him. Paul is saying that the evidence of His existence can be clearly seen in the things that were made. Believing the lies of evolution or calling something like “intelligent design” automatically just a “religious argument” without reason and therefore in their minds makes that point invalid. These are just poor excuses that expose improper thinking, something that has eternal consequences. But, if God were to be obvious, that His existence is without a doubt, what would that say about God? Let me explain. If He was visible or had a supernatural temple, people would come and worship. While that sounds like a good thing, what would the relationship be between God and mankind? There would always be a huge gap between the Creator and His creation (something akin to how ants view humans in an ant farm). But that is not God’s way, God desires to have a close relationship with His people, with people who love Him and desire to be in His presence. So how is that done? First, as discussed in the first part of our exploration of why is there suffering, you would need to separate the frauds, humanists, idolators and other unbelievers from true believers, by first going through painful testing to expose the true heart. Secondly, taking those true followers to someplace beyond comprehension, a place without pain and suffering. The Bible calls this place heaven. It is there where the perfect ‘bonding’ between man and God take place. A place to spend eternity with Jesus. What happens to the others, those that chose to reject the free offer of salvation? A place where God is not, Hell.
Looking at another point to consider regarding suffering is the assumption that God is a loving God. Many naysayers or non-believers when approached by a Christian like to ask something like, “Well, how could a loving God allow that to happen?” Referring to some tragic event or a horrible scenario that had occurred. Ultimately questioning the existence of God. Sadly, as we discussed earlier, most Christians have no answer which essentially terminates any evangelism effort. It is interesting to note that the person called God a loving God. How did they come up with that? They must have heard or read that somewhere? Does that mean if God was ‘detached’ from His creation, had no love and didn’t care about what happens, would they then believe there is a God? Probably not, the question was nothing more than a smoke screen designed to dissuade Christians from continuing the discussion. But let's look at the fact that God is a loving God.
During Jesus’ ministry on earth, He faced persecution, betrayal, hatred, torture, and death by crucifixion. Can anyone believe that He enjoyed suffering? To say He endured suffering would be an understatement, as He suffered more than most. So can we believe that He wants people to suffer too? If He is truly a loving God, which He is, then we know that when He sees suffering, He is deeply hurt by what He sees. At this point we see that the cause of suffering falls under one of two categories, it either comes as a result of a fallen world due to sin or that it is deemed important or possibly necessary by God, perhaps for spiritual growth, maturity or correction. We know that we do live in a fallen world, one that was cursed by God shortly after Adam and Eve first sinned (see Genesis 3:17-19). Since no one other than Adam and Eve had ever seen the world before it was cursed, we really have no idea what the world was like prior to sin, other than God called all of His creation, good. So when someone says how could God create a world that contains predators, violence, evil, sickness, death, etc., where tragic events can and do occur, the answer is, that He didn’t. The world we see and know is post-curse. Man was created in God’s image and was perfect, but when Adam sinned, he lost the ability to fellowship with God. Since God is holy, without sin, God could no longer fellowship with humanity, death was introduced so that people would not spend eternity in a fallen state. This may sound strange, but God loves the world so much that He instituted death to allow people to terminate their fallen state and then given the opportunity to accept Jesus to return to the pre-cursed, perfect life with Him.
As humans when we suffer, we can get mad at God, some Christians ask why or plead with God for relief. We acknowledged earlier in the previous segment on suffering, some pain is necessary, as it warns the brain that something is wrong in the body. But there is also chronic pain or intense suffering that extends beyond tolerance levels to endure. Let’s go back to what I said earlier, Jesus Himself suffered greatly. He was willing to suffer in order to fix the problem of sin. If He endured that much pain for our sake then we need to ask ourselves if He did not remove the pain and suffering in His own life, is it the right thing for us to ask for any pain or suffering to be removed in our lives? Of course it’s okay, remember He told us to ask (see Matthew 7:7-11; Luke 11:9-13). James even wrote, “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.” (James 5:13-14) But if it seems that your prayer is not being answered, this is where discernment from the Holy Spirit is required. Just as Paul wrote in Romans 5:3-5, God may be strengthening you to be a future witness or encourager for someone else (remember that serving God is done by serving others, see Matthew 10:40-42; 25:31-40; John 12:26).
There appears to be two patterns emerging from our review on why is there suffering. The first is that there is a direct connection between sin and suffering and the second is that suffering is a painful, yet effective, way to learn things that are not taught elsewhere, especially in a classroom.