I hear from a lot of readers about the struggles they are going through. Some have inoperable illnesses like cancer, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s. Others have a series of health issues that are crippling half the time and merely painful the rest of the time. Some suffer from spousal abuse or children making bad decisions with their life. Some suffer the loss of a loved one. The list is long and disconcerting. The common questions I hear are "Why? Why is there so much suffering?” and the second question is like it: "Can't God do something about it?"

To answer these questions, we first need to know a few things about God. First, God is all-powerful, but is limited nontheless. What are those limits? They are two-fold. First, God can do anything that is logically possible. That means God cannot make a "square circle", as that would be illogical. Second, God cannot violate his own character. This means that God, who is all-righteous, cannot sin. These are important distinctions for the discussion.

When God created humanity he created them in his image. While we are not all powerful (or all-anything, really), we do reflect the nature of God in some key areas. We share in his creativity, an ability to love, eternal life, and freedom to name a few. It is this last attribute that is important in answering the "why" question. When God created humanity he gave them freedom, which means they have choices including the choice to obey or disobey. Logic dictates that freedom requires choice. If one does not have a choice in their situation, then there is no freedom. Just as God cannot create a square-circle, he cannot grant man freedom without the possibility of man choosing to disobey.

The first man and woman in the world abused their freedom, bringing about sin, death and suffering not only on themselves but on the entire planet. Look at the curses God voices in Genesis chapter three and you will find they are all encompassing; man, woman, animals and even the earth itself were all impacted by Adam and Eve's choice. This too is logical; since they had authority over the entire earth their sin affected the entire earth.

Some will argue that God is ultimately responsible because he knew that Adam and Eve would sin before he created them. (Note: Not all Christians believe in God's perfect foreknowledge of future events, but most do.) There are many ways this question has been answered in the past, and these answers show a great deal of thought and creativity. In the end, however, God's foreknowledge is irrelevant. God created people with freedom because to do otherwise would have been to create slaves, which would have violated his character. The choice was to create humanity with the option to reject his love or not create them at all. Some may argue that not creating us would have been preferable but we can only make that argument because he did create us, so the argument is really a fallacy of logic. The take-away though is that it was Adam and Eve who sinned, not God.

It is then often countered that there really was no choice, that placing the first couple in a lush garden but telling them they could not eat from only one of the trees is like putting a cookie jar in front of a five-year-old and telling him to not have a cookie. This analogy is false for at least two reasons. The first is that a five-year-old often wants what he cannot have because he has a sin nature, something Adam and Eve did not have before they abused their freedom. The second is that a cookie is desirable, but God assured Adam and Eve that the tree was not desirable and in fact would lead to their death. A better analogy would be telling a five-year-old not to touch the stove because if they do they will get burned. I don't know any child who wants to burn their hand.

We therefore live in a world that was completely impacted by the sin of humanity. The more we grew in number, the more sin we committed and the impact grew proportionately until we have the world we live in today - a world of our own making. As a result, we suffer in four distinct ways.

As we've discussed already, we suffer because we live in a cursed world. Our sin impacted the planet negatively and is the cause of natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and the like. This is only one of the causes of suffering, however.

The second cause of suffering is our own sin. There are natural consequences to living in a way that we were not designed to live. AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases are probably the easiest examples to understanding that sin has natural, physical consequences. All sin, of course, also carries a spiritual consequence of separating us from God. If sin goes unchecked for too long, it results in eternal separation from God.

The third cause of suffering is other people's sin. A man cheats on his wife and she bears suffering as a result. A mother physically abuses her children, and they suffer because of her sin. Heartbreak can fall into this category. The old saw is true, "no man is an island", and we therefore suffer from other people’s bad choices.

The fourth and final cause of suffering is God's direct discipline. We sometimes suffer because of God's wrath (remember Sodom and Gomorrah and Noah's flood?) or as a result of God's chastening (God disciplines those who follow him the way a parent does a child). I saved this one for last because it is the least understood cause of suffering. Often people confuse natural disasters or other people's sin with God's actions. If we remember that God cannot sin, it helps clarify what is discipline and what is a result of the other three causes. God would never instigate a parent's abuse, for example.

These are the answers to our two most prominent questions about suffering, but having the answers is little solace when in the throes of suffering. Knowing the answer to "why people suffer" doesn't relieve our suffering even a little bit. The only thing capable of getting us through the pain sin brings is hope, and hope is the one thing that only Christianity can provide.

Unlike all other religions, Christians serve a God who has experienced our pain and suffering and can identify with being treated unfairly and unjustly. Only in Christianity do we find God reaching out to us with a solution for restoration rather than a god who demands we fix ourselves. God knows all our pain, and more. This fact, coupled with God's character-driven power would indicate that someday God will put an end to suffering. We have more than logic and God's character to give us hope, however, we also have his promise.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had ceased to exist, and the sea existed no more. And I saw the holy city – the new Jerusalem – descending out of heaven from God, made ready like a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Look! The residence of God is among human beings. He will live among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any more – or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist.” - Revelation 21.1-4

If you want to be one of “his people” and enjoy an eternity of life and love free of sin and its consequences, one only has to put their trust in Jesus. Last week we looked at three of Jesus’ roles in the world; he is God, he is the suffering Messiah, and he is the final judge of all humanity. Trusting in Jesus alone for both this life and the one to come means you are among “his people”, with all the rights, privileges and freedom that brings. To put your trust in Jesus today, pray:

Dear God in heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I agree with you that I have sinned and I am sorry for my sins and the life that I have lived. I need your forgiveness. I believe that your only Son Jesus Christ shed His blood on the cross and died for my sins, and I am now willing to turn from my sin. You said in Romans 10:9 that if we confess the Lord our God and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we shall be saved. Right now I confess Jesus as the Lord of my life. With my heart, I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. This very moment I accept Jesus Christ as my Savior and that, according to your Word, right now I am saved. Thank you Jesus for your unlimited grace which has saved me from my sins. I thank you that your grace never leads to license, but rather always leads to repentance. Therefore, Lord Jesus, transform my life so that I may bring glory and honor to you. Amen.




Read our follow-up to this article, written two years later, by clicking here.