There is much debate about why God has allowed such evil to exist. Many great thinkers have sought to search out the answer to the problem of pain and suffering. I have found no significant satisfaction to this issue apart from believing in a good and loving God who is ultimately sovereign over all that happens here. All other words leave me in despair.
In this life it is difficult to see the real answer. If this life is all that we have then we are indeed to be most pitied. On this side of eternity there is no balm that can competely heal the broken hearted…the scars always remain. Is there real justice for the one who has been raped, or the parent whose child was murdered or killed by a drunk driver? How about the injustice of so many children dying in poverty around the world…is there any words of comfort? What do you say to a parent whose child has committed suicide or has run away from home? How about the people who lost homes and everything they owned in natural disasters of flood and fire…is there some hope offered them of a better future? And then there are all the issues raised by such an unspeakable horrors as the holocaust and other stories of ethnic cleansing. Can any of us answer give a satsifying answer without taking into account eternity?
The only explanation in which I have found comfort is that this life is not all that there is. I believe that this life prepares and equips us for what we will be doing for eternity. What is a mere 70 to 90 years compared to forever? In this life we learn to trust because we are tested in this almost every day. In the natural, trust is gained when we see and experience tangible proof that someone is trustworthy. Usually all it takes for some people, especially if they have unresolved wounds from past relationships, is one act of disloyalty on the part of another person to cause a permanent breach in relationship. But, we are called upon to trust in an invisible God that appears to be disloyal almost every day. After all, what kind of father allows his kid to suffer when he has the power to prevent it? What kind of father would a man be if he did not “beat up” the young man who defiled his daughter? Innate in normal parents is the all pervasive drive to protect and provide for their child. I know that when my son had to go through surgery on his leg I plead with God that he would take me instead! Gladly parents would take on the suffering of their child. So, isn’t it a miracle that billions through the ages have remained faithful to the end, putting their trust in God even though at times it seems that God does not protect and does not provide and does not work justice?
Therfore, it stands to reason that we cannot judge the character of God by what happens in this life. We can see that indeed God loves us so much that he gave His son to suffer for us. He experienced death (the ultimate suffering which in real terms is separation from God) and bore in his body the pain and suffering through the ages and in his soul the consequences of all of our sins. So, here is proof of a loving father who is willing to suffer in place of his child. However, we still suffer. And, God does not always protect us from bad things…natural disasters, sickness, war, famine, rape or murder, etc. Also, how many criminals go unpunished while the victims are never compensated for their pain and loss? Then, even when a murderer is sentenced to death for his crime, the loved one whose life was so cruelly taken can never be restored. Where is justice?
Hence I am convinced that this life is preparation for something that comes after when we pass from this life into our next life. In the heavenly kingdom there will be recompense for what we have suffered in this life and rewards for our persevering faith. The other day we stayed at a Hilton Hotel which cost about $200 a night. Thankfully, we were not the ones paying the bill. However, because of the cost of this hotel was at the high end for hotels in the area, we expected greater service. Needless to say, the maid did not clean the room until after five each day, she did not refill our in-room coffee supplies, the laundry service did not pick up and deliver at the promised time, the bell boy did not come in time to take our luggage so we had to do it ourselves, and the dinner tray was not removed for many hours. At check out I dutifully registered a strong complaint and the desk clerk, apologizing profusely, asked me, “What can I do to compensate you for our failure so that you will feel like we made it up to you?” So my question to God is, “What are you going to do to compensate us for all the sacrifice and suffering we have endured in this life?”I already know his answer. Through persevering in the midst of trials and hardships, somehow we gain hope, learn love and our faith is refined. God considers this of such great importance that all that happens to mankind in this life cannot be compared with the glory that will be revealed in the last days. This is the glory of a bride that has learned to love and to trust contrary to what her senses dictate. She has persevered knowing that one day the guilty will be punished, the faithful rewarded, the mourners comforted and intimacy will be restored…and God says this is good! I know that one day we will agree and declare that all his ways are good and that indeed his loving kindness endures forever!
