I heard a sermon on this subject today. More specifically, it was on the age-old question of, “Why does a good God allow suffering?” The pastor hit on some of the things you might expect, like how the human rebellion in Genesis 3 brought sin and death into the world, as well as how things got worse when Cain murdered Abel in Genesis 4. He pointed out that much suffering comes at the hands of other people. He even mentioned that suffering extends beyond humanity and that the creation itself groans (Rom. 8). All valid points.
But beyond the minute or two he spent on Genesis 3-4, it seemed that there was little hope of getting a substantial answer to such a deep and potentially disturbing question. In fact, the sermon had very little to do with the question of “Why?” Most of it was directed toward an entirely different question, which seemed to be: “How do I cope with suffering?”
I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but the world is pretty messed up right now. The original question seems like a good one that deserves more attention: “Why does a good God allow suffering?” And doesn’t Scripture have more to say about the question of “Why?” than the fact that a long time ago two people in a Garden screwed up?
It seems so arbitrary. Because Adam and Eve messed up, we all have to suffer? That’s not a very satisfying answer. Adam and Eve sinned, and that’s why the Holocaust happened? Adam and Eve sinned, and that’s why we have a global pandemic? Adam and Eve sinned, and now the Taliban is hunting down Christians in Afghanistan to murder them? There’s got to be more to it than that.
We’re not going to solve this age-old question in a few blog posts, but Scripture can lead us toward a more satisfactory answer. In the process, we’ll learn a lot about what’s really going on in the world, about Who God is and what He is like, and about ourselves.
As we go on, we’ll have to explore some key topics:
- Is sin “missing the mark,” or is it darker than that?
- The wrath of God
- Does God honor choice?
- Life and Death
- Why did God subject the world to futility? (Rom. 8)
- God’s kindness
- How does God describe Himself?
- (And maybe more?)
Epic Gospel 