The Problem of Pain and Suffering

"Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world."       C.S. Lewis - The Problem of Pain 

 

What is pain? 

Pain is the physical suffering or discomfort caused by illness or injury. 

 

What is suffering?

Suffering is the state of undergoing pain, distress, or hardship.

 

Scripture References 

Genesis 3:16-19 NIV

[16] To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you. ” [17] To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat from it,' “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from 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. [19] By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

 

Matthew 24:3-14 NIV

[3] As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” [4] Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. [5] For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Messiah,' and will deceive many. [6] You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. [7] Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. [8] All these are the beginning of birth pains. [9] “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. [10] At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, [11] and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. [12] Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, [13] but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. [14] And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

 

Introduction

The problem of pain is not an easy subject to preach or teach on. I have tried hard not to take this subject into consideration when given the opportunity to speak to you all. But it's just one of those things I find myself coming back to every now and then. This is a subject very close to my heart and it is also one that all humans struggle with. All races, religions, casts and colors of people face this question and if not all then most ignore it as part of life. So, here's the million-dollar question: if God is so loving and caring and good and kind and benevolent and is all powerful and able to do everything humanly impossible, then why does pain and suffering exist? Why does evil exist? Why do we continue to fall victim to sickness, disease, all sorts of natural and physical problems, natural disasters or what is known as an act of God? While these bad things happen to us, the God we pray to stays in the shadows watching it all come to pass silently doing nothing about it. Are humans wrong to blame God for all these acts? Or is God our escape Goat? Isn't it human nature to point finger at everyone else for our problems, circumstances and situations whether it be natural or physical or emotional or financial or even spiritual thou most consider spiritual a delusion of the human thinking or mind, a deception if I may speak frankly. 

 

Major Points of Sermon

  1. The Origin of Pain and Suffering
  2. God's Love and Human Free Will
  3. Why does God allow pain and suffering? 

 

The Origin of Pain and Suffering

Where in the Bible do we first learn about pain and suffering? How did pain and suffering enter the world? Have you ever thought about these questions? Pain and suffering is a direct result of men's rebellion against God. Disobedience has consequences and that's exactly what happened; Adam disobeyed God and this was men's first sin against God. Pain and suffering is a direct result or consequence of sin. It is not something God created. It is something that came to be because of disobedience. When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden with God, no such thing as pain and suffering existed. We first hear of pain and suffering when men rebels against God's instruction, against God's law, against a single rule; yes, only one rule. Let's have a quick look at scripture: 

 

Genesis 2:15-17 NIV

[15] The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. [16] And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; [17] but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

 

In the above scripture, we learn about God giving a command, a law which was a single rule that is not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If they ate, the result will be death that is spiritual death. The fellowship that was instituted in the garden of Eden will be broken. A separation will exist between God and man and because of this separation, the life of God that is zoe (eternal life) will no longer remain in operation. It will be replaced by bios that is physical life which has a starting point and an end. The end being the physical death of the human body. Because we were all in Adam when he sinned, the bios continues to have its full effect on every human being in the form of pain and suffering. It's not a matter of who you are but what you are and what we are is a fallen human race. It does not matter how many good works and acts of charity you do; the problem remains; we are all from a bad batch. God understood this very well when he allowed the possibility of good and evil through the instrument of free will. On my next point, we will talk about God's love and human free will. But to answer the first question that is what is the origin of pain and suffering? It is Adam's first sin which has now spread out to the entire human race.

 

God's Love and Human Free Will

What is God's love? In the Greek language, God's love is called agape which means God kind of love or sacrificial love. Agape always desires the good of the other. Now to desire the good of the other does not mean that you let the other party have their way or will or say in every demand brought forward. I would like to use a very simple example to illustrate my point. Consider the relationship between a parent and a child. Now the child may desire certain things which the parent may not approve of. For example, the child may demand for the newest Xbox 360 and the parent may decline this demand. Now the child may argue just as many argue against God that if you love me and they literally mean really love me, you will buy me the Xbox 360 because that will make me happy. Now the parent knowing very well that the Xbox 360 will greatly impact the child's school work and performance in general. Also, the child will become less active physically since he or she will be sitting in front on the flat screen TV playing video games all day. Well some may say that they can control the amount of time the child spends playing video games which every parent knows does not work out well. In this example notice that the child's happiness is in getting an Xbox 360 to which the parent disagrees and decides to decline this request to make sure they do well at school and are more involved in physical activities. What the child considers an object of happiness, the parent considers a hindrance to the child's schoolwork and physical health. It is because the parent loves the child that they are deciding against the child's desire. They know that education and health are a greater concern then the Xbox 360 that the child is demanding. Just because something will make you happy or give you temporary feel good environment does not mean it is good for you. There are a lot of illegal drugs out there that gives you all kinds of feel good highs. But even the one taking it knows that in the long run, it will slowly destroy their health and eventually life. I am reminded yet of another great example. When I was at school back in Fiji Islands, dentists used to come to school and check our teeth. We hated that. I remember all the students standing in a straight line moving forward to the room of pain and suffering. It was a dreadful day. I remember the dentist checking my teeth and finding two teeth that were bad and they needed to pull them out. I was scared, so scared, shaking uncontrollably, chills running up my spine as they started doing all sorts of things inside my mouth. Was it painful? Yes. Was I suffering? Definitely. Years later when I grew up, I realized that what they did had saved me a lot more future pain and suffering. The dentists were helping us because they cared about our health. They understood that what was a decaying tooth will develop into a bigger, greater problem which would be far more painful creating far more suffering than the current situation. Love can allow temporal pain and suffering for the greater good and better end. We see that every day in our world. Just take the time to notice it. Would it be wrong for God to allow temporary pain and suffering for the greater good and better end of its creatures? Would not this be a better option than permanent pain and suffering or living in total separation from our God and savior, Jesus Christ? 

 

Now let's talk about human free will. What is free will? Free will is the ability to choose between different possible courses of action. It is your ability to make choices or decisions independently. It is your power to act on your own, to choose to do right or wrong, to obey or disobey, to do good or bad. Now for love to exist, there needs to be a minimum of two people; a lover and the beloved. Now both these parties need to choose whether to love the other or not. They need to be able to say yes or no to the other. Where free will does not exist, love cannot exist. In other words, for love to exist, free will is not only necessary but compulsory. When someone is forced to love the other party, it is no longer called love. It is called rape. Forced love is rape whether it be physical, emotional or spiritual. God is by no means a rapist. He can love you with an everlasting love throughout all eternity. But He being a gentleman of outmost moral and character will not even for a second demand you to love Him back. You can say no to his love and He will accept your decision without a fight. He knows that you need Him and without Him you will eventually reach a place of utter destruction and remorse and unhappiness. You will be in a place without Him and to be without Him is to be in a place where there's not even the slightest hint of love or compassion or benevolence. Why? Because God is love and when you reject God, you reject the only source of love and life there is. It is a dreadful thing to fall in to the hands of the living God but it is still worse to be found in a place totally void of his presence, love and life. Many of you parents understand exactly what I am talking about. You can tell your kids to do right, you can teach them to become good members of their society or community. But they still have a choice. Knowing what is right, they can choose to do wrong. Being taught good moral values, they can choose to do evil. We should never underestimate the power of this gift from God called free will. As much as it can be used to do good and wonderful deeds, the power to do the opposite remains. As to how you make the most of this God given ability, depends upon the individual. Remember that on judgement day, each of us will be judged separately. On that fearful day, no one will be standing by your side to bail you out. Men will give an account for all their acts committed under the privilege of human free will. As much as free will allows for the existence of a world where pain and suffering coexist with love, it also allows for the possibility of the creature to make God's will their own will. It gives the creature the power to die to self and carry their cross after Christ. It's a tough process and humanly not possible. But stand assured that with God's help, all things are possible. If He did not even spare His own son to redeem us, how much greater reward and joy and happiness will you receive if only you will allow God's will to become your own. God has made this possible for us through the sacrifice on His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ on the cross. Let us take full advantage and benefit of this sacrifice given freely to us. Don't let your free will drag you to hell but surrender your heart to the guidance and comfort of the Holy Spirit. There may be pain and suffering. For without these, you will not reach where God is trying to take you. It's a process, somewhat long but totally worth the price at the end of the race. Cheer up your soul knowing that victory is close, so close that you can taste it in the infilling of the Holy Spirit who is our friend and helper forevermore. Amen! 

 

Why Does God Allow Pain and Suffering? 

I just established a solid ground on the origin of pain and suffering as a result of sin. Also, I have put forward a moral framework on what God's love is and how it relates to the human free will. Before moving forward onto my last and most important point, I would like to tell you a simple story. A man went out for a walk in the park. While walking, he saw an injured dog lying at the side of the road. The man felt pity for the poor creature and decided to take the dog home. He treated the dog for his injuries, put medicine on its wounds and bandaged the dog. The dog was repulsive to the medicine at first and tried to push away the man because it was causing him discomfort and pain. After the dog's injuries healed, the man tried to give the dog a bath because it was stinking and filthy. The dog resisted the bath but the man held the wild creature strongly and washed it thoroughly. He treated the dog for flees and combed his hair. The man took him to the vat and had the dog vaccinated. The dog was once again very resistant to all these actions taken by the man. The man gave the dog a name and talked to him as a friend and as a member of his family. Thou the dog was resistant to the man's actions in the beginning, now it understood that the man was doing all this for his benefit. As time passed, the dog became less and less resistant to the regular bath, medicine, combing etc. Eventually this all became the norm for the dog. What I would like the reader to understand is that although the man wanted to keep the dog, it could not accept the reckless creature as it was that is wild, filthy, stinking, full of flees and infected wounds etc. The man took actions which induced temporary pain and suffering in the creature. But in the long run, the man's actions made the dog a better and healthier creature capable of living in the human environment, almost understanding the voice of its owner and responding as if almost human. Now I am not saying that the dog has become a human now but is it not true that by treating the dog as a human, it has become somewhat human like. No wonder dog is man's best friend. 

 

This story of reality clearly explains the first point I am about to make on why an all loving and kind God allows pain and suffering? While pain and suffering causes discomfort to the creature, in the long run it is beneficial. What would you choose, temporary pleasure in this world or permanent happiness with your creator? The choice is simple. The little pleasures of this world are nothing compared to the eternity of joy in heaven. Pain and suffering makes us aware that there is something terribly wrong with this world and the only way out is to become a part of God's family through life that is given freely to us in Christ Jesus if we choose to. There are only two options: 

 

  1. To be with God in heaven by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
  2. To be without God by rejecting Jesus Christ who is the only way to heaven.

 

Now pain and suffering clearly gives us a glimpse that we were not created for this world, that there is another world where pain and suffering does not exist. If I were to tell a chick who is inside an egg which has not hatched yet that there is a whole world out there, it will immediately reject this idea. How can it accept a fact which it has not seen? But let's say that the chick refuses to hatch, it will eventually die inside the egg. Currently it is in a state of anguish and suffocation. We are in a similar manner inside a shell getting ready to hatch. But it has become a problem to us to see life beyond death, to see that there is another glorious world beyond our own. We have become creatures so near sighted that to see beyond the horizon is impossible and senseless. The spiritual cataracts on our spiritual eyes has thickened so much that God is taking great measures to wake us up unless we fall asleep forever into a world of darkness where light is not an option. 

 

We see great examples of how pain and suffering benefited the characters in the Bible in the long run. Let's take for example Joseph who was sold as a slave by his own brothers. You all know about the bad days and nights this poor fellow went through. But praise be to God who used this pain and suffering not only to promote Joseph as second to the King of Egypt but also to save those very people who had put him through all those miseries. Only God can bring out good from hopeless situations. And God will use the pain and suffering you are going through not only to bring forth good but also for you to become a blessing to those around you. Consider also the example of Job. He suffered great for his unfailing trust in God. But we know the end; how God multiplied his blessings at the end far greater than what it was. If you keep your eyes on Jesus, rest assured that He will turn every curse into a blessing, every mourning into happiness, every disaster into a miracle, every sickness into a healing, every cry into a smile, every sorrow into joy. Just as it is written in:

 

1 John 5:14-15 NASBS

[14] This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. [15] And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

 

Always remember that God will answer your prayers in His own timing, in His own season, according to His own purpose, plan and will. So, stand firm in faith; pain and suffering is temporary, eternity with God is permanent. Never lose your focus on the permanent by shifting your eyes onto the temporal. It's not about how you start the race, it's about how you finish it. Along the way, you may fall, get hurt, break a leg, even break some teeth, just remember to keep your eyes on the final prize, keep your eyes on the author and finisher of our faith that is Jesus Christ. All glory be to God. AMEN. At this point I would like to conclude my first point by saying the reason that God allows pain and suffering is because God understands that in the long run it will benefit you in ways that you cannot even think. 

 

The second reason I feel that God allows pain and suffering is so we can better understand the problems of other people. Let me illustrate my point with a simple example. A person who has never lived in poverty can never understand the condition of one who in that state. Now some may argue that they do understand their problem because of their close relation or nearness to one who was in poverty. It is one thing to be in poverty and another to know someone in poverty. The real struggles and painful days of one in poverty has experiences of starvation and the actions it prompts at times to do the unthinkable or eat the unimaginable is beyond the understanding of one who has all the food in the world to eat and shares some as if he or she has done a great favor and now has accumulated the justification of fully understanding and knowing all the ins and outs on this subject of concern. Now if you are one of those fellows, save yourself the sympathy and pity. The truth of the matter is you don't understand. You may know about poverty but the soul that goes through this tremor has an experience which words are not sufficient to describe. I speak as if I myself have faced poverty but I am the least to say I have. I am here only trying to make a very important point that if you have not gone through a particular pain and suffering, then you surely have no grounds to say that you fully understand it. You are lying openly and this just sounds even more pathetic when good meaning Christians adapt to this kind of speech and behavior. I am not here trying to say that we should go through every kind of pain and suffering to gain greater insight, greater depth and understanding on the matter. What I am trying to say here is that we should be honest with each other and admit that although I do not fully get it but I want to be a comfort to you in these times of unexpected events and help you in any way possible within my power and strength. Image for example if one of your closest friend’s mother past away. You as a close friend, go to the funeral and say to him or her that you understand what he or she is going through while your mother is all healthy and well. That scratches the wound more than it does to comfort. You are lying on your friend’s face. What would have been better is if you would have said truthfully that I do not really know what you might going through but if there is anything I can do in my strength to help, please let me know. If you need someone to talk to or just listen or assist in something, feel free to reach out to me. I am here for you! A friend is not just someone who is always trying to understand everything about another friend. Sometimes just to remain quiet and hear the other pour out their soul after a disaster does far greater good than trying to always be the perfect friend. Remember there is none perfect except one. There is none good except God. Now before I move too far away from my second point, I would like to expound a little bit more on my second reason that experiences of pain and suffering allow us to not only to better understand what another is going through but know exactly what they are going through. I am reminded of a great example about myself. I used to suffer from consistent migraine headaches many years back and through prayer and God's mercy I received divine healing. Yes, God still heals. The pains and suffering I went through, I pray no one else goes through it. If it happened occasionally, then I would have been okay but consistent migraine headaches made it so hard to even sleep or face light or even sound triggered it. After my merciful and loving God healed me, I am still migraine free to this day. Years later I was sitting in a Bible Study and one lady was talking about how she would get consistent migraines and it was really getting to her nerves. I testified to her about my migraine problem and how the almighty took care of it for me. I told her that God still heals and migraine is on his list. He healed me and He will heal you if you continue to dwell and rely on Him. I could relate very well to this lady's migraine problem because I was once a victim but now a victor. The lady listened to me as I testified to her because she understood that her problem was once my problem and I talked from experience, not from reference. People will pay more attention to your experience and testimony if you have gone through what they have. This is a documented fact and God understands it very well. He uses the experiences of pain and suffering and the victory His children obtain over it through Him to become a testimony and bridge leading people to Jesus Christ as the answer and way to God. Think how glorious this truth is. Is it wrong for God to allow His children to go through temporary pain and suffering so that others can be saved? Is it wrong for God to allow evil to take its full toll on His children even leading to martyrdom as a witness to the truth so that others may know about His Son, Jesus Christ? Absolutely not because those who perish in God live even if they die physically. Those who suffer for the sake of Jesus name should always remember that He was with them in every step of the way. In Christ, we are never alone. For He made it very clear when He said that He will never leave you nor forsake you. Even death which is the sting of sin does not have the power to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord and glorious Savior. Amen!

 

The third reason I feel why God allows pain and suffering is so that we can understand a simple basic fact; something is wrong and needs your attention. To illustrate this point, I would like to refer to a story once told by Ravi Zacharias. On one of his trips to a certain state he met a lady who told him about her daughter. She said that her daughter was suffering from a disease, the name of which I no longer remember, which caused her child not to feel anything. In simple words, her sense of feeling was gone and if any injury or cut or infection happened, she would not know about it. She could not feel any pain at all literally regardless of how bad it was. The life span of children with this problem was very short. The child could not play sports or take part in any kind of outdoor activity. Even a small cut could cause harm to her life since she would not know about it until it became a life-threatening issue. The mother told Ravi Zacharias with tears in her eyes that brother Ravi people pray that they do not feel pain but I pray every single day to God to make my daughter feel pain? It is a shocking truth. If you were to feel no pain, that would be a greater threat to your life than most people think. Pain wakes up our senses and makes us pay attention and provide care to the part of our body in question. It makes us fully aware of the fact that something is wrong; something is not right in our bodies. It helps to take care of our problem at an immature stage before it develops into something beyond out capability to fix. In the same manner, God uses pain and suffering to raise up our spiritual senses. We human beings are sensual beings and work according to the flesh more than we should. For God to sharpen our spiritual senses, pain and suffering are necessary instruments to bring forth the spirit men to develop in the school of prayer and take charge of the flesh before it self-destructs. 

 

The forth reason I feel God allows pain and suffering is to chasten us. The word Chasten comes from a Hebrew word “yakach” which means to discipline or reprove or rebuke or reproof or correct or judge or convict. Does not the scripture clearly teach us that whom God loves, He chastens? Let's have a quick look at two of them:

 

Proverbs 3:11-12 NASBS

[11] My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD Or loathe His reproof, [12] For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.

 

Hebrews 12:4-11 NASBS

[4] You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; [5] and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, "My SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR faint WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; [6] For THOSE whom THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES." [7] It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? [8] But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. [9] Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? [10] For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. [11] All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

 

I believe the above passage of scripture clearly explains the reason for God to allow pain and suffering that is to chasten us. He loves you and me and thou discipline is sorrowful for a moment, afterwards it produces the peaceful fruit of righteousness. It brings us into a position of right standing with God. I am reminded of a story about a boy who was walking down the street one day and saw a house whose construction was still in progress. The windows and doors were missing. The roof was only done half way. The flooring was also incomplete. He did not see any taps or lights around the incomplete house. As he passed by, he wondered to himself, "What an ugly house? So much is missing!" After a few months, the boy was once again passing by the same area and saw the same house which was once in construction was now complete. The entire house was fully furnished with the most modern style roof, doors, windows and lights. The design of the house was one of its kind with a fence and even a fancy mailroom. The boy just stood still in wonder and said to himself, "My, my, what a beautiful house. I was so foolish. What I thought was ugly and imperfect was still something in progress. Now that I can see the finished product, I am left to ponder on its splendor and maker." All of us are right now looking at a creation filled with creatures both of which are incomplete and imperfect. God is using pain and suffering as tools to shape and prune us towards completion and perfection. This process of reproving and disciplining is not an easy one but if you would only let Him, He will make you complete and perfect just as He is. When the potter is making pottery, he has to break the clay several times before he reaches that state of perfection whereby he can hold that size of pottery and call it His masterpiece. God is the potter and we are the clay. The process of molding us is a painful one and suffering is necessary to bring forth the final, finished, complete, and perfect creature which shines forth the glory and majesty of its maker that is God Himself. We are His handiwork and to blend into his will and to make it our own is the only way to find life and joy beyond physical death. For apart from Him, there is no life, there is no joy, there is no other way out. For He (Christ) provided the ultimate bailout by redeeming us through His precious blood. The scripture says in: 

 

Acts 17:28 NASBS for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His children.'

 

Also, it is written in: 

Ephesians 1:7 NASBS In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace....

 

Before I lose track, let me conclude my forth point by saying that just as a parent chastens His children for their own good because they love them so also does God use the means of pain and suffering to chasten those He loves. Remember the stakes are high, so high that for God to allow every human desire and act to become the norm is not only unrighteous but unjust, unloving, unkind and at worst evil. 

 

The fifth reason I feel God allows pain and suffering is for us to realize that we all need each other; most important, we need God. Self-sufficiency is not an option. A classic example would be the times we face natural disasters such as flood, drought, famine, earthquake etc. Have you ever noticed how these unpleasant and horrific events brings together people, communities, cities, states, nations etc. together? People forget their differences, nations forget they are enemies and jump in to assist those who have fallen victim to these natural events. These natural disasters are a result of the effect of sin on creation whereas pain and suffering is the result of sin on creature. All in all, think of how unity is formed in these events not only to give provision for what people have lost but also to comfort them with the gospel message; to tell the victims that Jesus loves them and one day all these horrors of life will be put to an end. It is written in:

 

Revelation 21:3-4 NASBS

[3] And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, [4] and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."

 

Ponder on this question: When you see people around you going through pain and suffering, does not your heart cry out for them? Does it not bring out the hidden goodness in you? Does it not trigger one to help them? Does it not even make your heart as soft as snow even to those who have been unkind to you, those who have always desired your worst? One would naturally think that to watch your enemy go through bad times will be so much fun. But when something bad does happen to them and you stand at a distance watching, asking what if that was me, would not sympathy and pity burn in your heart? Remember when you fail to lay aside your differences and help another in their bad days, you have let go of the very thing that makes you human. Let us not be one of those devilish creatures. I would like to conclude my fifth and final point on why God allows pain and suffering is to bring out the best in us, to unleash that hidden goodness that comes from Him alone, to let us know that we need each other and most importantly, we need a savior, a redeemer, one who stands by your side even when all is working against you. His name is Jesus Christ and He loves you with an everlasting love, an unfailing love which has no limits, no conditions, no demands which cannot grow less even if you spit on His face and slap Him, nail His hands and legs, put a crown of thorns on His head; He will still wait for you at the door of your heart patiently, just in case you decide to let Him in so that He can change you into His own likeness and present you to the Father as one cleansed, washed, justified, sanctified and redeemed by the pure holy precious blood of our dear Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. Amen!

 

Conclusion

 

In conclusion, I would like to first quote once again one of my favorite writers, C.S. Lewis from his book, “The Problem of Pain”:

 

“Try to exclude the possibility of suffering which the order of nature and the existence of free-wills involve, and you find that you have excluded life itself”

 

I would also like to take this opportunity to quote from a book very close to my heart, “At the Master’s Feet” by Sadhu Sundar Singh. In the quote below, Jesus is answering Sundar on why God allows pain and suffering?

 

“Pain and suffering are bitter as poison, but it is also well known that sometimes the antidote of a poison is itself a poison. And thus, I sometimes employ pain and suffering as bitter medicines in order to promote the spiritual health and vigor of My believers. As soon as their perfect health is secured there will be an end of all suffering. Their pain is no pleasure to Me, for My one object is their eternal well-being (Lam. iii.31,33).”

 

I hope this article has helped you to gain a better understanding about the problem of pain and suffering from a Christian point of view. Thank you for reading. Have a blessed day. 

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