Meaning of Suffering

“Why does God allow pain and suffering?”

This is a question that a lot of people have been asking for quite some time. Both people who believe in God and those who don’t have a hard time comprehending how a god who is all good and loving could allow his people to suffer.

First of all lets be honest; nobody enjoys suffering and I’m no exception. So saying that because it is not enjoyable is a poor argument so to say it has no value. There are many things that I don’t enjoy but that I can see are good such as getting my flu shot or having my teeth cleaned at the dentists. I view suffering as being similar in that of course I don’t want to experience it, but it can produce a greater good for myself or others. This has been obvious so many times in my life as I can see how not getting one job has opened up the door for another. I’ve even seen things such as the tragedy of a sudden death, bring people closer together. In fact if I could go back in my life I wouldn’t want to avoid all the pain and hard times I’ve experienced as I can see that they have definitely made me the man I am today.

But this still doesn’t excuse God from allowing suffering. After all he is all powerful and surely could find a way to accomplish the same thing in a more pleasant manner. This is true to the extent that God can do whatever He desires as He’s the one setting up the rules. What is important to note here that God doesn’t will that anyone should suffer but rather He “allows” suffering to be part of our lives as a result of our freewill. Our freewill is an incredible gift as it allows us to choose between loving and hating God and each other. God didn’t want us to be robots that did good and worshiped him only because they had too. That wouldn’t really be love as we would have no choice in the matter. True love is something that can only be given if there is a choice not to love as well and this is why freewill is necessary.

God loves us unconditionally and yet our freewill let’s us accept or reject this love. It was our first parents, Adam and Eve, who chose to reject God’s love and brought death and suffering to this world we now live in. In a sense we continue this rejection of God’s love in our own lives in the times that we fail to love our neighbor and make ourselves more important then God. So suffering then is part of the human condition but it never was something that God desired for us.

The amazing thing is that God takes the ugliness of our pain and suffering and somehow finds a way to bring good out of it. Just as the pain we feel in the gym can make our bodies stronger, our suffering can often help us grow. In many ways it is how we approach our suffering that determines how much good it can do in our lives and those around us. Even a person bedridden with a serious illness can offer their suffering up in prayer to God and He will use it for wonderful things.

Jesus Christ himself suffered an excruciating death so that our souls could be saved. It’s a mystery that God would allow His Son to undergo this suffering but once again it all goes back to love. He didn’t want there to be any doubt how much He loves us and the cross of Christ definitely shows us that. In the end suffering is still a mystery but it is not one that has to be feared when seen through the eyes of faith. It can be the path that leads us and other to holiness, so whatever our suffering is, weather large or small, lets embrace our cross like Christ trusting that God’s love will overpower it.