Reflections on Suffering

This past weekend marked the one year anniversary of the sudden death of a friend and Christian brother from our small fellowship.  The day after his death, I preached a message called "Three Essentials of Suffering Well" from 1 Corinthians 1:1-7.  I have been thinking about that event and the message not only because of the anniversary but also because of my recent experience as I walked with a friend and his family through a time of severe suffering due to the tragic death of his wife and their mom/mother-in-law (see this previous post).

In that message last year I noted three points that Paul shares regarding suffering.  The first, from verse 4, was that suffering well means realizing that it is inevitable.  This truth was brought into sharp focus during the past two weeks, as I interacted with several people in the midst of deep sorrow who were asking the question "why?" 

In fact, after the memorial service one person asked me point blank:  "If a non-Christian was to ask you why something this difficult happened to a committed Christian family, what would you say?"

What do we say, as Christians, when confronted with the reality of severe suffering?  And how do we help others understand what the Bible has to say about that kind of difficulty, and the universal reality that we all suffer, believers and non-believers alike?

For my part, in response to this person's sincere question I simply expanded on the idea of inevitability.  We are always surprised by suffering, aren't we?  When tragedy strikes it always seems as if something unusual and avoidable and out of the ordinary is happening.  Even though we read every day about earthquakes and tsunamis and accidents and cancer and AIDS and suicide and crime, when suffering strikes close to home we are shocked and caught off guard.  Somehow, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, we go about our lives under the illusion that nothing bad will ever happen.  But then it does... and in an instant the fantasy is stripped away.

The Bible makes it clear:  We live in a sin-cursed world.  From the first chapters of Genesis God declares that as a result of man's disobedience the entire created order is placed under the burden of sin.  Paul says that creation "groans", looking for that day of redemption when all things will be made new, when all of creation will come under the righteous reign of King Jesus and man will be restored to the garden.

Until then, natural disasters and war and sickness and mental illness and relational strife and death are the inevitable experience for those living in a world under the judgment of God and in the control of the wicked one.

However, despite this reality and as a result of His manifold and overflowing grace, God still gives us glimpses of how things were meant to be, and how they will one day be in all their fullness.  We revel in the beauty of a sunset, we bask in the glow of relational love, we rejoice in the inspiration of music, we find meaning and purpose in accomplishment and learning, we enjoy the pleasures of good food and drink.

These good things are meant to be signposts in a dreary land, pointing to a greater reality beyond this life.  These gifts from God are meant to wet our appetite, to awaken hope, and to develop faith.

How do I respond when a non-Christian asks me about suffering, especially the suffering of the saints?  I tell them plainly... as citizens of this earthly kingdom, we do experience suffering along with our fellow human beings... but as citizens of a heavenly Kingdom, we suffer with hope in a world yet to come.  Then I invite them to consider how they too might come into this Kingdom through faith in Jesus Christ.