The following excerpt is taken from Travis Dickinson’s book
entitled Wandering Towards God: Finding Faith Amid Doubts and Big Questions-
As a final thought, it seems the assumption
implied in many of the discussions about the problem of evil is that God owes us
a relatively pain-free life. But why
think God owes this to us? Why think God
is obligated to make our lives more pleasurable than they are?
I see no reason at all to think God
owes us a pleasurable life. This is
especially true given the fact that we live in a fallen world of which God is
the holy Judge. On what basis can we
demand more ease and comfort in this life as fallen human beings? God does give us good things, but he is not obligated
to.
In life, God has our well being in
mind. He doesn’t necessarily have our comfort
and pleasure as his aim. These are
fundamentally different aims. And let’s
not forgot that God has given us redemption as the ultimate gift. The ultimate evidence that God has our
well-being in mind is Jesus’ work on the cross.
Peter Kreeft says,
“How to get God off the hook? God’s answer is Jesus. Jesus is not God off the hook but God on the
hook. That’s why the doctrine of the
divinity of Christ is crucial: If that is not God there on the cross but only a
good man, then God is not on the hook, on the cross, in our suffering. And if God is not on the hook, then God is not
off the hook.”1
So here’s the picture. We are fallen, and we live in a fallen world. Pain and suffering are part of this picture. God doesn’t put us through pain and suffering
capriciously and for no reason. Even if
we don’t know what those reasons are we have plenty of reasons to believe that
God is just and good. But it doesn’t
stop there. God has entered this fallen
world as one of us to solve the problem of evil. He died on the cross to address evil and
sin. He rose from the dead to defeat
death.
The ultimate
answer to the problem of pain and suffering is Christ crucified and raised in
victory. Our ultimate need is not less
pain and more pleasure and comfort. Our
ultimate need is to find peace with God.
This provides hope no matter our circumstances. With this hope we can face down the trials of
life that inevitably come. We may not
understand all of what is going on with these trials, but they shouldn’t lead
us away from God. We should run into his
loving arms. 2
God Bless,
1- God's Answer to Suffering by Peter Kreeft- https://www.peterkreeft.com/topics/suffering.htm
2- Wandering Toward God: Finding Faith amid Doubts and Big Questions by Travis Dickinson- pgs. 174-175
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