Why do we suffer? Why am I going through this? Why is life so hard? Why do the innocent seem to pay for the crimes of the wicked? Why did God allow this to happen?... We have all asked at least one of these questions at some time, and for many it is the reason why faith in God is ultimately rejected. The idea that a loving, all-powerful God would allow such horrible tragedies is reprehensible to our way of thinking. Unfortunately, many stop at the questions and never get an answer.
Genesis 3:17-19 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’;
Cursed is the ground because of you;
In toil you will eat of it
All the days of your life.
“Both thorns and thistles it
shall grow for you;
And you will eat the plants
of the field;
By the sweat of your face
You will eat bread,
Till you return to the
ground,
Because from it you were
taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall
return.”
The ultimate reason there is suffering in the world is because of sin. Sin is disobedience: anything we do that is contrary to God’s ways or commands. In a sense, it is spiritual treason because it is choosing to follow God’s enemy, satan, rather than God.
God did not create sin. He created a perfect, beautiful world without death, disease, suffering, pain or anything bad. It was without fault, and mankind was blessed to live in that perfection as perfect beings in perfect union with God. But then mankind sinned. Adam and Eve chose to rebel against God and paid the consequences for it. Yet, those consequences did not affect them only, but all of humanity and all of creation as well. Sin literally cursed the very ground they walked on.
While sin is the cause of all suffering, there are three main categories of sin that cause us to suffer:
- The first is our own sin. We do something wrong and suffer the consequences of it. When we lie or steal, we suffer the consequences of not being trusted (not to mention any legal ramifications that may arise.)
- The second is others’ sin. We suffer because of the choices others make, especially in the family unit. Children suffer because of the choices of their parents and vice versa. Sometimes we suffer due to the choices of the government or those in authority. We are connected with others so in some way what we do affects them and what they do affects us.
- The third is the result sin has on this world. God did not make the world to have storms, disease, cancer, genetic mutations, sickness or natural disasters. It was perfect, but sin corrupted it. Weeds and thorns grow among crops. Storms come to damage the earth. Genes mutate to cause problems and disabilities. Sickness, disease and cancer plague our bodies. These are signs that we live in a fallen world which is longing for God to redeem and restore it.
Hebrews 12:4-11 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,
“My son, do not regard lightly the
discipline of the Lord,
Nor faint when
you are reproved by Him;
For
those whom the
Lord loves He disciplines,
And He
scourges every son whom He receives.”
It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
Why does God allow us
to suffer the consequences of our own sin?
Consequences are part of the natural course of life. Everything we do has consequences—good for good and bad for bad. We choose what we do so we must accept the consequences that come with our choices and actions. If there were no consequences, we would have no reason to do what is right or to avoid what is wrong. It teaches us how to behave.
For those who believe in God we also experience His discipline, like any loving parent disciplines their child. As these verses say, correction is painful in the moment, but if we are trained by it, it yields peace and righteousness.
We also choose our response to suffering and discipline. We can surrender to God and allow Him to use it to grow us and make us more holy like Him, or we can whine and wallow in self pity which will leave us bitter and unhappy without changing our circumstances at all.
Why do the innocent
suffer?
Most rebel at the idea of suffering because they feel they do not deserve it. When children suffer at the hands of others it seems especially tragic because we view them as being innocent and undeserving. But are they really?
Romans 3:10,23 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
as it is written,
There is none righteous, not even one;…
for
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Psalm 51:5 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother
conceived me.
Because of Adam’s sin, all are born and conceived in sin. We begin life with a sin nature. The idea that all people are basically good is neither biblical, nor accurate. Roman philosopher Marcus Aurelius said that children are innocent, not because of their nature, but because of their limbs; withhold something from them and they would kill you if they could. Children do not have to be taught to lie, steal or be unkind. They do, however, have to be taught to share, to be obedient, and to be kind. Rather than innocence, it is more a matter of being unable to defend themselves against the choices of those around them. None of us are innocent before God, but we are, or can be, innocent with regard to earthly relationships and circumstances.*
Our view of being innocent or undeserving of punishment is distorted because our view of sin is distorted. If we saw sin as something completely abhorrent and vile, as treason against our holy and perfect God, we would not be surprised that we suffer so much, but instead wonder why we suffer so little. We deserve so much worse than we get because of our rebellion against the holy God. Yet God is merciful and gracious. He does not punish us as we deserve, but allows us to experience only what will bring us to Him in repentance. We deserve to die the moment we commit our first sin, but because God is gracious and merciful, we don’t. Instead, He allows us to experience consequences that teach us to not sin.
Romans 8:28 New American Standard Bible 1995
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
2 Corinthians 1:5-7 New American Standard Bible 1995
For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.
2 Corinthians 7:8-10 New American Standard Bible 1995
For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it—for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while— I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.
This does not mean that we deserve everything bad that happens to us. As His children, God wants us to enjoy good things. Instances of unjust suffering, abuse and loss are devastating and not part of God’s original plan for us.
God does not cause bad things to happen to us. He gives us free will to make our own choices, and to receive the consequences of those choices. He does not desire for us to suffer, but He also does not want us to sin. He does protect us from some things, but not from everything, allowing what will help us to grow if we trust in Him.
Why does God send
people to hell?
He doesn’t. It is a choice we make ourselves. Heaven is spending eternity enveloped in God’s presence. Would anyone who hates God enjoy that? Why would He force someone who has rejected Him and wants nothing to do with Him, to then spend eternity with Him? He allows us to decide where we will spend eternity. We must accept the results of our choices. But that is not the end…
None of us deserve to go to Heaven. We get so much better than we deserve because of God’s grace and mercy. Grace is receiving a gift we don’t deserve, and mercy is not receiving the punishment we do deserve. God is just, all sin must be paid for, but we do not always foot the bill.
The greatest story of the innocent suffering unjustly is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He came to earth, lived a perfect, sinless life, and yet He took on the punishment for the sins of the world. He did not deserve to suffer in any way, yet He suffered cruelly. Why did He suffer? Because He loves us. Our sins, even just one, permanently separate us from God. He is holy and perfect and cannot be in the presence of sin, which means that we are eternally separated from Him. But He loves us so much that He made a way for us to be with Him through the sacrifice of His perfect Son. Jesus paid the debt we owe so that we could live with Him forever!
2 Corinthians 5:21 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
John 3:16-17 New American Standard Bible (NASB) (emphasis added)
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
It is a common practice with livestock that when a mother loses her baby, the hide of her dead baby is cut off and tied over the back of an orphan in order to get her to adopt it. In this way, when the mother sniffs the orphan she smells her baby and allows it to nurse, accepting it as her own. In the same way, Christ, the only Son of God, died so that His righteous blood could cover us. Then, when God looks at us He sees His Son and accepts us. We just have to accept His sacrifice, allowing His blood to cover us and make us right with God. It does not happen to everyone automatically. We have to choose it.
What is your choice? Have you accepted Jesus’ sacrifice for your sins, surrendering your life to Him? If you have, praise God! Choose to see suffering as God’s tool to refine and mold you into His likeness, removing the sinful tendencies that are in you.
If you have not accepted Him, will you now? Repent of your sin and accept His sacrifice for it. Give your life to Him so that you can be righteous before God, He can make you holy and redeem your suffering.
*While we are born and conceived sinful humans, I do not believe that God would send to hell a baby or young child who is too young to understand the concept of salvation. I believe we choose where we go, and if a child is incapable of understanding or making that choice, it would not be just to condemn them. God is always perfectly just. He does not, cannot, do anything wrong or unjust. In 2 Samuel 12:22-23 David said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who knows, the Lord may be gracious to me, that the child may live.’ But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” The Bible does not directly address this issue, but based on God’s character and the quote by David stating that he would see his infant child after it died, I believe that those unable to make that choice will not be held responsible for what they are incapable of understanding. At what age a child is able to understand is not definitive, I believe it is different for everyone and only God knows, but we can trust that He will do what is right and just.
No comments:
Post a Comment