Suffering

 

“Why do we suffer?” is a question that is as old as humanity.  Another question that has been asked along with it is, “If God is so good and powerful, why does He allow us to suffer?”  While we may have spent a lot of time thinking about answers to these difficult questions, I think that the Bible has a very simple answer to them—we suffer because God suffers. 

We often picture a God who is big and strong; nothing can hurt Him.  Yet, on the pages of the Bible we see a God who experiences pain.  In fact, in the first few pages of Scripture, God looked at humanity and it “grieved Him” because humanity was not pursuing Him (Genesis 6:6, KJV).  The Message Version says it this way: “it broke His heart.”  The book of Hosea also has a good description of what God looks like when we are not seeking Him.

Since we were made in the image of God, it makes sense that we have the same kinds of qualities or characteristic as our Maker.  If we didn’t experience pain and suffering, we could not know God intimately.

On the cross, we see a man who has been rejected, betrayed, violated, and abandoned.  On His face we see the pain and suffering of man and God.  From His lips we hear God’s heart, “Father, forgive them…”

It should be no surprise that whenever the church comes together and have communion, that we remember Jesus’ words, “Do this in remembrance of Me…”  This is a time to remember hurt and brokenness.  However, in this time of agony, it is also a time to remember the love and the gift of God.  This is why in the midst of our distress and despair we can sing with Paul:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.  For just as the sufferings of Christ flow into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. (II Corinthians 1:3-5)