mayfield church of christ

Why Does a Merciful God Allow Suffering?

Posted by Pastor Mark on 23 November 2008 | 0 Comments

Tags: Suffering, Hope

Little Holly was born two weeks ago......how great is it being a poppy...Poppy Mac?.....As I've thought about her entrance into this world.....and what lies ahead for her...and even her first two weeks......I'm convinced....that Life ought to begin with a HAZARD WARNING. There should be a tag on every newborn baby.....saying life might very well be full of love...and fun and adventure and excitement and joy.....BUT there are possible side effects....... There's illness . . rejection . . . broken relationships. . . betrayal . . . sorrow . . .loss . . . injuries. . . disappointment  . . . heartache  . . .. . .and finally...death.

I think this is what Jesus is hinting at..... in John 16:33 where he says that in this life, there will be trouble.....And I think to a greater or lesser extent....ALL of us struggle with......how to DEAL with that trouble.....and the pain and suffering that seems to plague us ALL in life.....And it's a huge question....that one day will be fully answered.... Why are there these side effects? Why is there suffering and evil and pain?...And WHY does a merciful God allow such suffering?....

Each month....our friends David and Cherie Snellgrove....who are over in the Philippines working in the slums of Manila....send us a newsletter....and in each one....they include the story of one of our sponsor children's families.....

I want to begin this morning.....by sharing with you....a little of the life of a beautiful woman we got to know while we were in Manila........her name is Maravic...that's her and two of her kids up on the screen....And I want to introduce her to you because I think her life is a bit of  case study as we look at this huge question today....

Marivic was born in the slum area of Manila and contracted Polio when she was very young. The Polio left her face and body slightly disfigured. Her speech was no longer clear and it became very difficult to understand what she was trying to say. She now walks with a limp and has occassional body spasms.

Her mother and father were very poor but they loved and were very protective of Marivic. She also had three other siblings, two brothers and one sister.....BUT they wanted nothing to do with her.

Marivic finished school and college....and she achieved quiet  good results.... but was never given the opportunity to do anything with her education because of her disabilities.

Eventually she married and had three children.....however the man who was supposed to love her.... abused her both physically and emotionally because of her disabilities. Not long after being married.....her parents both died leaving Marivic alone with this husband and her brothers and sister....all in the one house. Without the watchful eye of her parents. Her brothers and sisters soon joined in with the verbal and physical abuse of Marivic...so she coped it from every angle....

Marivic's life soon became one of rejection and fear. Abuse was dealt out constantly by those who SHOULD love her most. As if she wasn't already feeling alone and unlovable.....Marivic came home one day to find her husband in bed with another women. He blamed HER for HIS unfaithfulness, telling her she was too ugly and deformed to look at.

He then he abandoned both her and their three children.....

Before her parents passed away.... they had managed to build a small house for their children, where Maravic and her kids lived. Her brothers and sisters soon left to pursue their own lives....offering no support for Maravic....who they saw as worthless.

Marivic started a very small sari sari store in the front of her house...like a little stall....which sells small sachets of Milo and snacks. The store however, barely makes enough money to buy food for her and her children.

The King Solomon Learning Center....heard about Marivic's situation....came alongside her and supported her.... and offered her children sponsorship places in the school. Through the sponsorship program Marivic has come to know a God who loves unconditionally and whose love is consuming....all that she has longed for in a family....and her relationship with Him has continued to grow...... and when you meet Marivic....her love of Jesus is an OBVIOUS thing....

OK....so that was back in May.....

Two weeks ago.....we got an email from David and Cherie....letting us know that things had very suddenly CHANGED FOR Maravic....Apparently her brothers had come home and decided that they wanted to sell the house....so they kicked Maravic and her children out....they moved in....and started making plans to sell.....So Marivic and her children had no house...no food....and no one to help.....

Fortunately....after several days.....one of Marivic's children came to the school and alerted the staff at King Solomon....that their mum had been kicked out and was on the street with nowhere to go.....When they found her....she was in tears....and contemplating how she could commit suicide.....

Marivic's story....I guess is nothing out of the blue.....it's just another story about someone else going through SIGNIFICANT suffering.....in a situation that is pretty much REMOVED from us....so we don't get too emotionally involved .....unless you KNOW her.....BUT the reality is....that MOST of us.....can at least identify with ONE aspect of Marivic's story...... because Marivic's story has it all.....sickness, death, abuse, marginalization, loneliness, homelessness, poverty...the desire to give up......and we might only identify with ONE of those.....SO....do you THINK.... that Maravic would have reason to be asking the question that so many of us ask.....Why would a loving God allow such suffering and pain?

And tied in with this basic question.....is a whole stack of similar questions that cover the whole spectrum of human suffering...like.....Why do people starve? .....Why do tragic accidents happen to babies, children and young people who get cut off with so much life to live?..... Why is a good wife the subject of abuse? ........Why did God even allow the existence of mind-altering chemicals and drugs? ......And what IS the DEAL with Cancer and other diseases.....and the list goes on and on.

And I think we've become pretty good at rationalizing this whole suffering thing...in order to just COPE...BUT......just when you think you might have come up with a reasonably good explanation.....that is almost intellectually respectable.....and socially palatable......along comes a tragedy that has absolutely no rhyme or reason.....like Maravic.

OR....Like one I read in a magazine recently......It was written by a policeman....and he said...Try explaining to a young wife that her husband...and her children's father died MEANIGFULLY when his car was struck from above by a 220kg cow carcass that had just ripped through the side of an overturned semi on the overpass above his car.....HOW do you begin???

If you've never asked that question.....why our world is infected with so much pain and suffering and evil.......maybe you haven't had to YET...BUT you will when suddenly you...or someone you love....is struck with the full force of suffering.....And I just wish I could somehow have INSIGHT into God's reasoning....so I could answer that question....for you now...so you'll be ready.... but I can't really.....nobody can....and any explaination sounds so trite when you are in the middle of it.....

Corinthians 13:12 says....... that on THIS side of heaven....we only see things dimly.....because we can't understand everything from our finite perspective.....ain't that the truth....

BUT.....I think there ARE some things that we CAN understand about suffering.....they may not make it perfectly clear....but they HELP us to understand what's going on.......and I think we NEED to be able to do that....to begin to satisfy our souls......

The first point that's REALLY clear......is that God is not the creator of evil and suffering.
So when you get hit with the question..... "Why didn't God just create a world where suffering and evil didn't exist?".....The answer is.....He did...... Genesis 1:31 says: "God saw all that he had made, and it was....... VERY GOOD."

And at that point....you begin to open a Pandora 's Box.....because if God didn't bring pain or evil or death into play.... where did it come from?

My girls used to have a Barbie doll....that had a string on it's back......and if you pulled that string.... it would say "I love you," .....BUT that didn't really mean ANYTHING because the doll had been programmed to say that......... Real love is very different.....it HAS to involve a choice.

God decided to give human beings free will, because He wanted us to be able to MAKE the CHOICE to love Him......to express our love to God and to each other......He didn't want to pull our string and have us programmed.....But the downside is......we have abused our free will by turning our back on God and walking away from Him. And that ACT.....has resulted in two very REAL kinds of evil being introduced into the world: "moral evil" and "natural evil."

And these are pretty straight forward.....Moral evil is the pain and suffering that comes because WE choose to be selfish...We CHOOSE to be arrogant...uncaring....hateful....and abusive. And we ALL have a part in this....it's the stuff talked about in Romans 3:23 where it says "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

It's even been estimated...... that around 95 percent of the world's suffering results from the sin of ourselves or others...... Like...when you look at a famine or people living in the slums in Manila....with very little food and nourishment......and wonder where God is....you have to understand that the world produces enough food for EVERY person to have 3,000 calories a day. It's OUR irresponsibility and selfishness that STOPS people from getting fed.
It's your choice......But you can't NOT do anything about the suffering of others....and then turn around and question GOD about WHY suffering  exists in YOUR life....

The second kind of evil is called "natural evil" .....these are things like earthquakes...tornadoes....and fires and droughts....that cause suffering..... But in many ways....these too, are the result of sin being allowed into the world.

As one author puts it...... "When we humans told God to shove off....He partially honored our request..... We did it OUR way.....Nature began to revolt...... The earth was cursed..... Genetic breakdown and disease began..... Pain and death became part of the human experience."

Way back in Genesis 3:18 it says......it's because of sin that nature was corrupted and "thorns and thistles" entered the world......And Romans 8:22 says...."For we know that up to the present time ALL of creation groans with pain like the pain of childbirth."

God didn't instruct people to build major cities on critical shear points in the earths crust......He didn't tell them to build towns on the slopes of active volcanoes...or to build cities BELOW sea level....NEXT to the sea.......der....WE just did it....because it had the best view or the best soil.....but when earthquakes happen and towns are flooded.....we call them ACTS of God....and ask Him WHY

There is this sense of disorder and chaos in our world............and  Nature is almost hanging out for God to come and for things to be set right....for things to be restored....

The Point I'm trying to make is this....... God did not create evil and suffering and death.....SURE... He did allow the POTENTIAL for evil to enter the world....BUT he did it because that was the only way to create the potential for REAL genuine goodness and love. But it was US.... in our free will, who brought so much of the evil that plagues us.....into reality.

A lot of people THEN ask..... "Couldn't God have seen that all of this was going to happen?"....

As a parent whose kids are all grown up.... I have the benefit or retrospect....... BUT...Do you think that before I had my girls.....that I didn't think about the possibility.... that they might get sick....or suffer disappointment or pain in their life....or that they might go right off the rails and hurt us and even walk away from us and want nothing to do with us?

Well....I guess YEAH we did...... and in fact...to some degree those things did happen......but we still went ahead and had our girls...... Why?.... Because we also knew that there was SO much potential for incredible joy and deep love and great significant moments...like the birth of a grandchild.....and a sense of meaning for our lives.

And I think it's the same with God..... He knew we'd turn our backs on Him....but He also knew a lot of people would NOT turn away from him....and just the slightest possibility of the potential JOY and incredible LOVE that just MIGHT be possible.... HAVING a relationship with us.....for some reason....made it WORTH it for Him...... even though it would cost His own Son a whole STACK of pain and suffering to achieve that relationship with us......The PAIN was worth it....for the end result.

Which leads to another thing I believe we can understand about pain and suffering.....That while it might not be good when you're going through it...... God can USE it to ACCOMPLISH GOOD.

And He does this in a couple of ways.......The first way he does it....is to use suffering to draw our attention to Him.....I love what C.S. Lewis says: ‘God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.'"

And isn't that true...... When we're happy and life's good...when there's no pain or suffering.....how often do we forget God? ....Often it's ONLY when we suffer...or experience heartache or loss or disappointment that we even THINK to turn to Him.

And it AMAZES me.....to read about people who have gone through INCREDIBLE suffering and pain.....and to hear them say.....the truth is that it's worth any price if it means coming to know God better.

I think God also uses pain and suffering..... to SHARPEN our CHARACTER; to help us become more like Him....more like the character and person he desires us to be......

I love Romans 5:3.....which  says: "We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance....perseverance, character...and character, hope."

I KNOW....that my times of deepest pain and suffering....like when Sian contracted meningitis at 4 days old......STAND as like a KEY MOMENT in my relationship with God......because at that point.....I had NOTHING else BUT God...no one else could FIX her.......and He gave US the strength and determination to be able to stand up to what lay ahead....and the HOPE to BELIEVE.... that this little girl.....who for all intents and purposes should be crippled on her right side, deaf and challenged in so many ways......to BELIEVE that GOD could turn this situation around.....And He CAN and DOES do it.....when it suits His plan....

Now Sian has turned out magnificently perfect....BUT....I can say....that for a long time it was 50-50....BUT my HOPE and the change in my character was NOT dependant on the final outcome .

Finally......when you look at passages like Hebrews 12:10-11 which says: "Our 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. No 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."....

I think a lot of people misunderstand that....to believe that God is somehow PUNISHING us....The reality is...like the passage says....that God sometimes uses pain and suffering to LOVINGLY discipline us for our own good......BUT discipline is NOT punishment......discipline is all about guiding us towards a set path....and steering us away from the wrong path...... Like as a PARENT.....you use something you might not particularly like ......discipline..... to help protect  your children from the harm that could result if they continue to head in  certain direction....

But here's the problem ....GOD has the big picture and we don't...... He can see the good that will come out of the stuff He allows in our lives......but often we CAN'T because we're RIGHT in the middle of it....and we don't have His perspective.

I read this great analogy....which explains this beautifully...... You're walking in the woods and come across a bear with his leg in a trap. You have compassion for the bear and want to help him, but he's afraid of you and not cooperating so you have to shoot him with tranquilizers. But the bear thinks you're trying to hurt and kill him. He can't understand why you'd intentionally inflict harm that way.

Then, to get his leg out of the trap, you have to first push it deeper into the trap to release the tension on the spring. If the bear was still semi-conscious, he would be even more convinced you were out to hurt him. But he would be wrong! He can only see the situation from his limited perspective, and he wonders, "Why is he making me suffer?"

And so often we ONLY see things from our limited perspective.....and we wonder why God is allowing pain in our lives.....when actually he's allowing it because he sees the big picture and knows it's the BEST thing that can happen to us....at that moment....

If there is a verse that sums ALL of this up this morning.....I guess it would be Romans 8:28: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

On day...I hope you get to meet Maravic.....so that you can SEE what it does to a person when they UNDERSTAND....and CLING to that verse with all that they have and are.....and KNOW it to be true. It brings into perspective.....our understanding of pain and suffering....and how it all fits into God's  purpose.....

Father God......we so often struggle to understand your plans....especially when pain and suffering are part of it. Lord I pray that you might teach us to have more faith in you....in your plan for our lives.....Remind us Lord....that you are walking the path with us......and that at times you need to help us alter our course. Thankyou Father....for Maravic......for the inspiration she is to us....for he faith....for her dependence on you....we have much to learn from her. Protect her I pray Lord.....and help those around her care for her and love her....as you do.

Amen.