Do I even need to finish that question? Wasn’t there a something on the tip of your tongue or the top of your mind?...
If there is a God…
… why do bad things happen to good people?...
… why is there so much suffering in the world?
Hmmm. Good questions?
Have you ever sat beneath a tree on a sunny day and asked, “Why is there shade here?”
Often the answer doesn’t rest in why something is as much as in what something is. The questions as to right or wrong, good or evil, joy or suffering lie in the definitions –at least within a biblical context – of each.
Shade is the evidence that the light from the sun is being blocked.
Shade itself could neither exist without light nor without something to block it.
Suffering is an event, situation, or experience that affirms that evil is still present.
This is the definition I use for suffering.
When people ask, “If there is a God, why is there so much suffering?” ask them if they think that evil still exists… if it is still present.
“Well,” they might add, “why doesn’t God stop it?!?”
Another Good question.
God didn’t start it. And to stop it… He has to stop everything.
“Good” is perfectly in line with the will of God.
“Evil” is not perfectly in line with the will of God.
As long as there is free will… there will be evil.
And as long as there is evil there will be events, situations, and experiences that affirm that evil is still present.
As long as the devil still has dominion on the earth there will be suffering on and in the earth.
Droughts. Famine. Earthquakes. Pestilence. Things outside of our control.
And as long as there are people exercising free will… people will suffer on account of it.
There will be men as trees…
And some will block out the Light of the Sun.
But only in Christ can we find comfort in suffering. Comfort in knowing that evil will one day be gone. That His will WILL be done in earth as it is in heaven.
“And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” Rev 21:3-4
Oh glorious day!
If there is a God…
… why do bad things happen to good people?...
… why is there so much suffering in the world?
Hmmm. Good questions?
Have you ever sat beneath a tree on a sunny day and asked, “Why is there shade here?”
Often the answer doesn’t rest in why something is as much as in what something is. The questions as to right or wrong, good or evil, joy or suffering lie in the definitions –at least within a biblical context – of each.
Shade is the evidence that the light from the sun is being blocked.
Shade itself could neither exist without light nor without something to block it.
Suffering is an event, situation, or experience that affirms that evil is still present.
This is the definition I use for suffering.
When people ask, “If there is a God, why is there so much suffering?” ask them if they think that evil still exists… if it is still present.
“Well,” they might add, “why doesn’t God stop it?!?”
Another Good question.
God didn’t start it. And to stop it… He has to stop everything.
“Good” is perfectly in line with the will of God.
“Evil” is not perfectly in line with the will of God.
As long as there is free will… there will be evil.
And as long as there is evil there will be events, situations, and experiences that affirm that evil is still present.
As long as the devil still has dominion on the earth there will be suffering on and in the earth.
Droughts. Famine. Earthquakes. Pestilence. Things outside of our control.
And as long as there are people exercising free will… people will suffer on account of it.
There will be men as trees…
And some will block out the Light of the Sun.
But only in Christ can we find comfort in suffering. Comfort in knowing that evil will one day be gone. That His will WILL be done in earth as it is in heaven.
“And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” Rev 21:3-4
Oh glorious day!
SDG
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