I got two premises, however, they seem rather convoluted.
- God is good.
- Life, often, is not.
The problem before me now, is to reconcile these two opposing viewpoints. I know God is good. That's without a doubt, nothing changes that. Whenever something doesn't make sense or seems contrary to what I know to be true, that's a flaw in my reasoning, or there's something I'm missing. Perhaps, it's beyond my grasp of comprehension or hidden from my limited view.
In regards to God, however, people throughout history have asked the same question:
In regards to God, however, people throughout history have asked the same question:
Why does God allow evil to exist in our lives?
We pray for our daily bread, yet millions across the world are starving.
We pray for peace, yet the world is stricken with violence, wars, and terror. The U.S. has been at war for practically 90% of its existence.
Even in our daily lives, we're confronted by tragedy and hardship at every turn. We've all lost someone close. No one escapes life unscathed from pain, not even Christians. Often, it seems, we get special attention. Today and for the last two thousand years, religious persecutions of often unimaginable cruelty have struck against the Church.
Don't think that such things are long gone, persecution is real and it's happening right now. There have been massive, state-sponsored religious persecutions as recent as the 20th Century. Wars have been fought over this. Even today, you can see the seeds of it sprouting and spreading in our own culture.
Christ warned us this would happen. We might've missed it, but He's said it multiple times. The real question is, why?
For some reason, I am reminded of the certain line from the age-old hymn:"They will know we are Christians by our love."
Why people suffer, is still tortuously hard to understand. But I think the worst suffering to experience or to witness, is a wasted life. A life without beauty, truth, goodness. A life without Christ. We see it all around us. Moral decadence, relativism, or despair are never pleasant or fulfilling.
We might not understand, but we should always trust our Father. Worry and fear are ill-founded and useless. For while "pain and suffering are inevitable, misery is optional."
Don't think that such things are long gone, persecution is real and it's happening right now. There have been massive, state-sponsored religious persecutions as recent as the 20th Century. Wars have been fought over this. Even today, you can see the seeds of it sprouting and spreading in our own culture.
Christ warned us this would happen. We might've missed it, but He's said it multiple times. The real question is, why?
For some reason, I am reminded of the certain line from the age-old hymn:"They will know we are Christians by our love."
Often, I've interpreted that to mean that others will recognize us as Christians by the love we show to others. They would know we were different because of our kindness, gentleness, compassion, humility, forgiveness. I believe that's only half the picture. Love is more than that. Once we understand that, we begin to understand God more.
Despite what we might hope, God is not some paternal, fluffy, white-haired, grandfather figure whose pockets are full of loose change and Jolly Ranchers.
Love is not a pleasant feeling, it doesn't pat you on the back gently. It doesn't accept you for who you are, but who you could and should be. It's not some soothing balm to take away all your pains.
True love hurts.
Don't believe me? Just ask Jesus. Nails didn't hold Him to the cross. Love was the only binding strong enough to hold Him.
Love isn't always nice, but it's always good. It's a tough love. Suffering teaches us about ourselves. It strengthens us. A tree is strong because the wind bends it.
I've wondered a thousand times how deep my love and commitment to God truly is. I have no intention of being a fair-weather Christian, but the truth is, I don't know whether I'll hold true to my word, unless I've experienced an actual storm. Right now, I've never experienced anything that would truly shake my trust in God.
Hardship in life is not punishment. It's not the worst fate in the world. It doesn't prove that God doesn't exist or He's some sort of cosmic sadist. Such a claim is absurd, you might as well say your dentist is evil, just because he hurts. Do we complain of exercise being too difficult or painful? Is medicine bad, merely because of its bitterness?
If God didn't love us, our lives might be painless or filled with excessive pleasures. If God didn't love us, He might spoil us instead. To truly love someone, is to will their good. Is giving someone a perfect, utterly blissful life, what is truly good for them? In my observation, spoiling children isn't a good way to raise them, nor is it good for their souls.
Despite what we might hope, God is not some paternal, fluffy, white-haired, grandfather figure whose pockets are full of loose change and Jolly Ranchers.
Love is not a pleasant feeling, it doesn't pat you on the back gently. It doesn't accept you for who you are, but who you could and should be. It's not some soothing balm to take away all your pains.
True love hurts.
Don't believe me? Just ask Jesus. Nails didn't hold Him to the cross. Love was the only binding strong enough to hold Him.
Love isn't always nice, but it's always good. It's a tough love. Suffering teaches us about ourselves. It strengthens us. A tree is strong because the wind bends it.
I've wondered a thousand times how deep my love and commitment to God truly is. I have no intention of being a fair-weather Christian, but the truth is, I don't know whether I'll hold true to my word, unless I've experienced an actual storm. Right now, I've never experienced anything that would truly shake my trust in God.
Hardship in life is not punishment. It's not the worst fate in the world. It doesn't prove that God doesn't exist or He's some sort of cosmic sadist. Such a claim is absurd, you might as well say your dentist is evil, just because he hurts. Do we complain of exercise being too difficult or painful? Is medicine bad, merely because of its bitterness?
If God didn't love us, our lives might be painless or filled with excessive pleasures. If God didn't love us, He might spoil us instead. To truly love someone, is to will their good. Is giving someone a perfect, utterly blissful life, what is truly good for them? In my observation, spoiling children isn't a good way to raise them, nor is it good for their souls.
Why people suffer, is still tortuously hard to understand. But I think the worst suffering to experience or to witness, is a wasted life. A life without beauty, truth, goodness. A life without Christ. We see it all around us. Moral decadence, relativism, or despair are never pleasant or fulfilling.
We might not understand, but we should always trust our Father. Worry and fear are ill-founded and useless. For while "pain and suffering are inevitable, misery is optional."
We never have to be afraid.
Because He loves us.
Infinitely.
Love was the only binding strong enough to hold Him.
ReplyDeleteI really like that. ^^^ this was a really good post! You provide good insight on these things :)
Thanks so much! I liked that part too. :)
DeleteWow, Thomas. You seem to write about theology so effortlessly. You seem to have such a wonderful understanding of scripture, and your relationship with God :) I applaud you very loudly :P
ReplyDelete"Hardship in life is not punishment. It's not the worst fate in the world ... you might as well say your dentist is evil, just because he hurts. Do we complain of exercise being too difficult or painful? Is medicine bad, merely because of its bitterness?" <This is very relatable and actually humorous. But it rings truthful.
Once again, I say, well done! :D
Thanks, Hann! I really appreciate it!
DeleteI could hardly take credit for all of my writing, a good amount of it is inspired by what I read and learn. This post, for instance, drew some inspiration from a small paragraph or two found in "A Grief Observed" by C.S Lewis, where he talked about suffering.
For some reason, theology is one of the easiest things to write about for me. I suppose, it's not that hard when one is surrounded by the wisdom of saints and scholars and guided by Holy Spirit. I couldn't do this on my own. After all, all truth belongs to God and all can learn from the true Teacher: Christ
Ah. But still, you took it and made it your own (at least, I hope you didn't copy the paragraph exactly :P)
DeleteOf course, of course! I just find that I am not gifted in the area of prose and elegance in writing. My sister is, and you are (from what I've seen) But, yes, I'm sure being cocooned in God's grace and guided by the Holy Spirit helps :)
Wow, you really went in-depth here, Thomas! Great job :)
ReplyDeleteI've wondered the same thing too sometimes. I know that I love and trust God, but I'm not sure to what extent. The storm hasn't come yet for me either, but I'm sure it's around the corner somewhere. And I'm praying I'll be prepared when it comes!
Really like what you said about hardships. They really do build us up and help make us more mature. It reminds me the verse in James: "Count it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness" (1:2-3). Oh, and Romans 5: "Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. . . "
Yes, I definitely hope the same. I was reading a book by Peter Kreeft recently and I found a fascinating point he made about suffering. First, he listed three aspects of God. (1) He is all good. (2) He is all wise. (3) He is all powerful. Then from those three premises, he came to the conclusion that everything that happens to us, is always for our good, including suffering. Because if (1) God is all good, then He always wills our good. (2) If God is all wise, then He knows exactly what's best for us. (3) Since God is all powerful, He will always make sure that everything that touches our lives, will be for our good.
DeleteGod doesn't always make sense to us, but what else could one expect of a infinite, divine intellect? Suffice to say, it is enough to have faith and trust if His goodness.
Thanks so much for reading!