“For God so loved the world He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” John chapter 3 verse 16, The Bible
If God is a God of Love and Total Power why does He allow Suffering?
This question will only trouble those who believe there is a God. If there is no God, and the universe is just the consequence of chance events, then suffering may be painful but it raises no difficult questions. If we are just the product of chance events then our suffering, like all of our lives, is just meaningless, pointless and empty. If you are asking this question in order to avoid facing the question of whether or not there is a God at all then please see first our web page What Christians Believe.
However, to those who believe in the God of the Bible, a God of infinite love and awesome power, the question of suffering can be a difficult one. Although we will attempt to give a short answer here, for a fuller answer from a great modern theologian please see Don Carson’s excellent book on suffering - ‘How Long, O Lord?’
In order to understand what the Bible says about suffering you have to accept that the Bible is true. If you will not accept that, then the answers the Bible give will make no sense to you. If you are prepared to listen to what the Bible has to say, then please read on:
The Bible (Genesis chapters 1 and 2) tells us that God created a perfect world, and in it He put the crown of His creation - man and woman. Man and woman are alone made in God’s image, and are alone designed to have fellowship with God. The rest of creation was given to man and woman for them to look after, and to provide for their needs. Man and woman were created immortal, and in that perfect garden there was no death.
Genesis chapter 3 tells us how first the woman and then the man disobeyed God. God is a Holy God, mankind could not be allowed to live forever in rebellion against Him, and nor could mankind have fellowship with Him in a state of disobedience. Therefore this act of disobedience, known in theological terms as the Fall, resulted in man and woman being cast out of the garden God had put them in, and sickness, death, thorns and thistles came into the world.
If God was not a God of love, then He would have destroyed all that He had made completely, but He did not. Genesis chapter 3 closes with God’s promise of how man and woman would eventually be given a way to come back to God - “So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." (Genesis chapter 3 verses 14 - 15).
This promise was fulfilled when Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, died on the Cross and rose again so that disobedient, rebellious human beings could be forgiven, and be restored to fellowship with God. At the Cross the devil was finally defeated forever. This is summed up in Colossians chapter 2 verses 13 - 15 “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; He took it away, nailing it to the Cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the Cross.” What Jesus did for us on the Cross is summed up in.John chapter 3 verse 16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave his One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
It is not possible for any human being to suffer more than Jesus suffered on the Cross for us. Not only did He endure the most terrible physical suffering, but He endured the even greater suffering of separation from His Father, when He the perfect Son of God took on Himself the sins of all who will believe in Him and follow Him. If we want to make sense of suffering, and to understand God’s love for us, then we must look at the Cross of Christ (this theme is developed very helpfully in John Stott’s book ‘The Cross of Christ’.)
But how does this explain the fact that suffering is still in the world? In Matthew chapter 9 verses 1 - 8 we are given the following account of Jesus healing a paralytic man during His earthly ministry: “Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. Some men brought to Him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven." At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!" Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." Then He said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." And the man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.”
What the teachers of the law did not understand was that Jesus had first dealt with the paralytic man’s greatest need. His greatest need was not for physical healing, which would only benefit him in his earthly life, but for his sins to be forgiven, and for his relationship with God to be restored. This is also our greatest need. However happy or sad our lives may be, one day they will end, and then whether we spend eternity in Heaven or Hell will be decided by whether or not we are in fellowship with God through Jesus Christ.
If all was well in this world, then we would not know that anything was wrong. The world remains cursed so that we know we are sinners who need to have our relationships with God restored. That is our greatest need, so God, who is a God of infinite love and awesome power, has left us with suffering that will show us we need to turn to Him and be forgiven. We can be forgiven by asking Him to save us because Jesus Christ His Son died for us and rose again. That is our greatest need, and Jesus is the greatest gift of love this world has ever known.
We have a stock of the excellent book by John Blanchard ‘Where is God when things go wrong?’ If you are not yet a Christian, please contact us for a free copy (UK addresses only). If you are a Christian you are able to buy copies from the Evangelical Press.
All of this does not amount to a promise that once a person comes to believe in Jesus Christ they will never experience suffering again. In fact Jesus promises the opposite.
Christians are still part of this world that was ruined by the Fall, and so Christians will suffer the results of living in a cursed world just as non-Christians will. Because God is Sovereign, no suffering the Christian faces will be without a purpose. The Bible talks about Christians suffering in order to be refined. The Bible also talks about God sometimes having to discipline His people as a loving Father disciplines his children - this is not a cruel thing but a loving and kind thing because God wants our relationship with Him to become better and better.
Although God has promised never to leave or forsake His precious people in this life, the greatest promises for the Christian lie on the other side of death. This cursed world will be destroyed completely one day, and God will create a perfect new Heaven and Earth where His people will live in fellowship with Him for ever. The garden we lost will be restored for ever, and finally God’s people will enjoy the eternal relationship with God we were created for. (See Revelation 21 and 22).
If you have not already read it then please read our article on the Sovereignty of God and how that limits the ability of human beings to answer life’s big questions, which will help you think things through
