Suffering Pt2

More suffering

To recap from last week: Suffering is part and parcel of living with free will. Going back to Genesis; the cost of freedom was the abuse of freedom (sin) which had moral and physical consequences…man was sent from the garden (to be apart from God) and the land itself was cursed (Gen 3;16-19) (to be apart from God). The world in which we live then, in as much as we don't claim it back, is subject to the will of Satan (the personification of sin).

1 John 5:18We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe (that his Jesus), and the evil one (that is Satan) cannot harm him. 19We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. 20We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

It should not surprise us then that suffering is so common and visible at a global, community and personal level, after all the "whole world is under the control of the evil one".

Last week we looked at evidence in the bible that God thinks about suffering differently to us mere mortals. In particular, he has an eternal view of creation - there was no suffering before the fall (Genesis 1-2) neither will there be after the return of the Christ (Rev. 21) …4He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

Our usual 21st century western protestant image of God as a loving forgiving Father is at best incomplete, and at worst entirely misrepresentative. If we rise above our cultural/ religious/ denominational prejudice and use the bible alone to describe the character and manner of God using a fresh canvas…we end up with a very different picture. He is loving forgiving father, true, but at the same time he is a perfect righteous judge who does not hesitate to withdraw his conscious blessing or even punish communities or individuals according to his good purposes. We use the old/new covenant argument to dismiss unpalatable actions of God described in the old testament failing to appreciate the he is the same God both before and after the coming of the Christ. Those in the early church understood and respected God better after the sudden demise of Ananias and Saphira (Acts 5:1-3); reading the bible – so should we.

We need to be comfortable with a sovereign, awesome, powerful God who acts not just in the interests of us as individuals but also in the interests of communities and indeed, globally. It is vain and self-important to place oneself in the centre of things by holding a view of God as personal Genie rather than as creator judge of the living and dead.

We have no right of claim on God's protection, provision or his blessings. We should have the attitude of gratefulness and humility before God. God, who loves us, acts according to his own good purposes many of these we will never understand; they are beyond us. You would be right to have a healthy fear of God…to work out your salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12) remembering the many examples given throughout the bible of God expressing his righteous and jealous anger of a people who choose other than what he wanted or intended for them.

You will remember that last week we covered lots of evidence in the scriptures that there are many causes of the suffering we experience:

1. We reap what we sow (Gal 6:7).
2. God delivers his judgments in this life not just the next (2 Kings 5:19-27, Acts 5:11).
3. But the suffering of an individual if not necessarily the judgment of God (John 9:1-3).
4. Sometimes brings a judgment against whole communities (Gen 19).
5. But a suffering community is not necessarily the evidence of God's judgment (Luke 13:1-5).
6. Suffering can follow goodness as it follows badness (1 Peter 2:19, Job, Jesus)…they aren't necessary causally connected.
7. Most suffering in the world is the result of sinning against one another which is often overlooked by those who would deny a loving God because of "all the suffering in the world).

God often uses suffering to develop in us resilience and character (Heb 12:7-13, 1 Pet 1:6-9). The bible even teaches that Jesus learned obedience from suffering (Heb 5:7-10).

So that's our recap from last week.

These are my thoughts for this week…let's assume that we are each at different points of comfort and understanding about the place of suffering in our lives, communities and the boarder world. I suspect that the cause/role of suffering is a much more important question for those that are/have suffered or are/were closer to suffering. Whatever we may think about suffering one thing is certain; you should expect suffering in various degrees even in the form of death over the next few decades. Whatever measure of suffering you experience, less or more, you will need to decide how it is you respond.

You see, it is your response that determines the kind of man you are and it is the consistency of your response which goes to the formation of character. Good character is what God is leading/pushing us to by his many machinations. He is the great circumstantial engineer. He either engineers the circumstance, or the lesson for the sake of your personal growth (to the extent you are prepared to allow this).

It is good character that will provide the basis for long-lasting quality relationships with God and man. These relationships are our legacy and our treasure. They are the means by which we do good works thus benefiting our fellow man and fulfilling Jesus greatest commandment…to love. So strive for good character, develop good character, value good character, befriend people of good character, and marry them where possible, and you will have a successful long and happy life 1 Cor 15:33 Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character.".

A good response to suffering in our life is an important feature of good character. Let's look into the bible and see what lessons it teaches about good responses to suffering.

1. Look for the big picture of what God might be accomplishing…Phil 1: 12Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. 13As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard[b] and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
2. Rejoice in the suffering for the sake the bigger picture…1 Peter 1: 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
3. Give God glory for both the good and the gory Job 13:15a Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him.
4. Have courage and stand firm in the faith in the face of suffering; don't be afraid Daniel 10:10 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
5. Fight to protect others from suffering James 1 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. John 15: Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
6. Accept and trust God if suffering; know when not to fight it Act 7: 59While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 60Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.
7. A bit of pain can make your life more fruitful John 15: 1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful.
8. Gain instruction from suffering … Hebrews 12: 7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Notice that the bible spends much more time talking about responses to suffering than it offers reasons for suffering. There is an implicit assumption that suffering is part and parcel with life on earth and that we live in hope we are destined to one day know a place without suffering.

We should then look for the big picture, give God the glory whatever may befall us, have courage and stand firm, fight to aleave the suffering of others, learn to accept suffering as fuel for personally growth and God's means to an end….even if we can't see what that end it is.

Suffering Pt1

Moral interpretation

Suffering is part of the human condition and can be witnessed operating at all levels:

1. Global – war, earthquake, tsunami, famine etc.
2. Community – plane crash, building fire, bomb etc.
3. Individual – sickness, unemployment, unrequited love

Our problem with suffering begins when we attempt to attach meaning, explain it, understand the cause, fit it into our moral/spiritual sense etc…We ask questions like, "why did God allow/cause that to happen?". Someone young we love dies so we ask, "why?". We loose a job and look for a deeper meaning…"does God have something better for me?" Some suffering we don't feel outraged by…a murderer is caught and punished (good)…and some we do…a child maimed by a terrorist bombing (why). The greater the moral outrage/ our sense of unfairness, the harder it is to explain. The closer we are to the suffering/the more keenly we feel it the greater the imperative to find a reason. If an innocent stranger dies in another part of the world it concerns us much less than if we are diagnosed with terminal cancer.

We could make things simpler for ourselves if we operated without faith/ purely from the perspective of reason then suffering is just and unfortunate event caused by circumstances beyond our control. If it happens to others then that's too bad. If it happens to us then we work out how to reduce the risk of the suffering from occurring again. Simple, yes? Our faith adds a further dimension to suffering.

Why do we feel the need to explain suffering? I think we look for an explanation so that we might avoid pain the future; it a protective response. Failing to find a moral explanation for say, the random nature of a car accident, we look to heaven and try to understand the thinking of the almighty. Our faith extends the search for an explanation past the natural into the supernatural.

Of all religions, our has one of the harder jobs explaining suffering. The bible has plenty to say on the topic but doesn't offer up a ready made doctrine which will answer all of our heart's questions. You see we believe in an all-good all powerful God (this is not the case in all religions). It seems reasonable to us that an all-good God would want his creation to be happy, yes? It also seems reasonable to us that an all-powerful God could deliver happiness to us at will, yes? So, if we are less than happy then either God is not all-good or he is not all-powerful or both, yes?

But in faith we know that God is indeed all-good and all-powerful so there must be another larger reason for why God allows us to suffer…so look at what does the bible says:

Historical context

There is a historic context for human suffering…it is time limited.

Before the fall there was no suffering in the world (Genesis 1-2). When Adam & Eve sinned God passed judgment upon them and the judgment was suffering. Man would have to toil and labour for his food and woman would have pain during childbirth (Gen 3;16-19). Further they would be separated from God (no longer allowed to remain in the Garden).

At the other end of the story, when Jesus returns and a new heaven and earth is established (Rev. 21) we are told that once again there will be no suffering.

Suffering is a result of the fall and will be correct in due course. So, we are fortunate in all of eternity to be alive enough to experience such a narrow window of suffering…aren't you pleased?

We need to have an eternal perspective of suffering. Romans 8: 18 "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."

Causes of suffering

God allows us to suffer and even delivers the suffering himself; sometime for our sake, sometimes for sake of others, sometimes for no sake at all. We need to be comfortable with a sovereign, awesome, powerful God who acts not just in the interests of us as individuals but also the interests of communities and indeed, globally. It is vain and self-important to place oneself in the centre of things. We have no right of claim of God's protection or blessings. When should have the attitude of gratefulness and humility before God. God, who loves us, acts according to his own good purposes many of these we will never understand; they are beyond us.

Why does suffering occur?:

1. Probably the easiest to understand is suffering as a consequence of our sin. We know from experience that we reap what we sow.
   Galatians 6:7 "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature[a]will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."
2. We can also easily accept God's judgment upon sinners. 2 Kings 19-27; Acts 5:1-11
3. We presume what we are told about God's judgment against whole communities like the the story of Sodom & Gommarrah. Though it's hard to believe that in such a large city only Lot's family were found to be worthy of sparing.
4. We are taught that when natural events produce suffering we should not presume that God is delivery judgment against sinners. John 9:1 "As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." Also, Luke 13: 1Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."
5. At a more personal level we also should not presume that suffering we might experience is caused by our own sin: take the story of Job for example. Peter talks about suffering for doing good. 1 Peter2:19 "For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. 20But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God."
6. Most suffering is "allowed by God" as a consequence of giving us free will; that is we sin against one another: murder, adultery, recklessness, selfishness, sexual abuse, theft, unloving parents, slander, unkindness, deceit etc… There is enough food in the world to feed the hungry. War kills more innocently than natural events like weather etc.
7. So we can see God permitting the suffering and delivering the suffering for his own very good reasons so that just leaves the innocents caught in the middle…what about them? The bible teaches us that the notion of the "fallen world" extends beyond the moral into the physical environment. The garden produced all that Adam and Eve needed but when the fall occurred, the land was cursed… Genesis 3:17"To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field." Also, Romans 8:20 "For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21that[i] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God." Innocents suffer because of the global background of sin. The physical consequence of our moral failure. The world is God's creation as well are so it should not surprise us that in the same way we bear the consequences of our sin, so there are flow on effects in creation more broadly.

Suffering has a purpose

The wonderful thing about having a biblical/spiritual view of suffering is that we have a promise that God will use it in our lives to produce fruit.

Hebrews 5: 7"During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 12: 7 "Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. 12Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13"Make level paths for your feet,"[b] so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed."

1 Peter 1: 6 "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

John 15: 2 "He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful."

So let us have a larger perspective on suffering and trust that God is indeed trustworthy. Let us be grateful for what he has given us and not expect an easy life. Suffering is part of the growth process and should be entered into with faith and eagerness…

Romans 12: 1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.