Tim Keller says, “Christianity teaches that contrary to fatalism, suffering is overwhelming; Buddhism contends that suffering is real; Suffering is often unfair contrary to karma; However, suffering has meaning in secularism. It has a purpose, and if we face it correctly, it can drive us deeper into God’s love and into greater stability and spiritual power than you can imagine. The Cross of Jesus Christ remains as an update that God has an answer and reason in our torment.”
If anyone had the ability to inquire, “Why would a good God permit suffering?” It was Paul the Apostle. He was locked up multiple times; lashed a greater number of times than he could count; faced peril; beaten with poles; whipped; endured being stoned; was sunk three times by ships; was burglarized; furthermore, was frequently eager, parched, without rest, chilly, exposed, and restless (2 Corinthians 11:26-33). We would ask, “How is he still alive?” if we saw a man like this on the news. Yet Paul was living and serving others in a joyful and hopeful manner at all times!
In his letter to the congregation in Rome, he supported his enduring and helped us with the point of suffering by saying, “For I consider that the sufferings of right now are not worth contrasting with the brilliance that is with be uncovered to us” (Romans 8:18).
While our enduring isn’t equivalent to Paul’s, we know about agony, misfortune, and even abuse throughout everyday life. But Paul knew the point of suffering. How could he say his enduring was “not worth contrasting with the brilliance with be uncovered”?
Diseases like Merz, Ebola, and COVID-19 abound in our world. Millions of people were murdered by dictators like Stalin and Hitler, who were evil. Fires, floods, and other natural disasters appear to strike frequently. And what about rape, the Me-Too movement, and physical abuse? Or, on the other hand, the awfulness of 9-11, or the psychological oppression of ISIS and terrorism? How is glory to be compared to all of this evil?
Is Paul implying that the glory of Jesus Christ can even begin to compete with all those terrible things?
Yes. Paul is making a size examination: The magnitude of God’s glory in Christ is being compared to the magnitude of our emotions and pain. Envision making a hill of our misery, all our aggravation stacked up. Something of the size of Mount Everest would result! That mountain, on the other hand, pales in comparison to the glory of Christ that will one day be revealed to us. If His glory dwarfs the terrible suffering we experience on Earth, how stupendous must it be? Thusly, we can reason that the magnificence of Christ eclipses any aggravation of any kind or size in our life.
Even though God is working on a reward and magnitude greater than our pain, we still question His goodness when we look at our own suffering and pain. Assuming that we tell the truth, amidst our aggravation, we play the “if by some stroke of good luck” game with God.
This sentiment was also prevalent during Jesus’ time, as evidenced by John 11:1-43:
“If only You were there,”
“if only You would have stopped this,”
“if only You were good and truly powerful.”
Jesus served in another town when his companion, Lazarus, became ill. Mary and Martha, his sisters, told Jesus to come and heal him, but Jesus didn’t. He stayed where He was for two more days.
At the point when He at long last arrived at Bethany, Lazarus had been dead for four days. Jesus was greeted by both of his sisters, who expressed similar sentiments to our own: If by some stroke of good luck, You had been here! You could have alleviated this suffering if you had listened and shown kindness.
