Who Is Responsible for Suffering?
Posted by: ba <ba@...>
http://www.forthright.net
Straight to the Cross
GUEST ARTICLE
Who Is Responsible for Suffering?
by Richard Mansel
Suffering has touched all of our lives and often
in unalterable ways. We mourn for the loss of our
loved ones. We mourn for lost moments and stolen
memories.
Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross writes that the second
stage of grief is anger. We direct that anger at
whomever is responsible. Having no one, God is
most often blamed. Leslie Weatherford writes,
"People get a lot of comfort from supposing that
their tragedies are the will of God. One can bear
a thing if it is God's will. It is hard to bear if
it is a ghastly mistake and not the will of God."
God created us in a world without sin and
suffering. God's love for man led Him to allow us
freewill, which Adam and Eve utilized and brought
sin into the world (Romans 5:12). When sin
arrived, suffering and death became almost
constant companions.
Dr. Richard Rice said, "God maintains ultimate
sovereignty over history. But he does not exercise
absolute control." God limits Himself in areas
that would violate our freewill. When we suffer
from sin, God allows us to deal with the
consequences, despite doing so with a heavy heart.
We suffer because of our own actions, the actions
of others, because of our mortality, and because
of the natural course of the world. Hebrews 9:27
says it is appointed that we will die. Even if we
are alive when Christ returns, we will be changed
(1 Corinthians 15:51,52).
God set in motion weather patterns which produce
good and bad weather and maintain the existence of
our world. God allows microorganisms which serve
the necessary functions of breaking down waste,
disposing of dead animals and building our immune
systems. At the same time, they also produce
disease. Disease and death exist because our time
here in this life is temporary (James 4:14).
We hate the evil, death and suffering of this
world. Yet, we enjoy freewill, weather, mobility
and technology. All of these produce extraordinary
opportunities and blessings despite their dangers.
Understanding the big picture, we see that the
positives far outweigh the negatives.
God knows we suffer because He has seen it for
thousands of years. He also knows because His Son
suffered. Jesus lost earthly family members and
friends. He grieved just as we do and begged that
His own horrific death be removed from His future
(Luke 22:39-46). Yet, He yielded to God's plan as
we must also yield to the realities around us.
God suffered when His Son died and He suffers when
our loved ones die. We know because He loves all
of us. As His children, we know the undeniable
love God has for us.
God has provided prayer, Scripture, fellowship of
the saints and His presence for peace, comfort and
strength (Revelation 21:4; Galatians 6:2). He
provides ways to endure and the hope of heaven - a
place where suffering and death will have been
destroyed.
Remember, God is not responsible for suffering.
Sin brought suffering into this world. Satan
should bear the blame as he is the evil one. To
blame God for evil is to blaspheme His name and
nature. He is incapable of evil. God does not take
our loved ones.
He sent His Son to overcome death. We also now
have victory over death. We will rise again. We
can go and be in heaven and shed the pain and
suffering of this cruel world (John 14:1-6;
Revelation 21:3ff). We can be reunited with loved
ones and relax in pure safety and bliss. Without
suffering, heaven would ultimately not be as
sweet.
----
Read this article online, tell us what you think,
see who's commenting, click here:
forthright.antville.org/stories/772216/
----
You can help us get the word out. Here's how:
forthright.antville.org/stories/340415/