Reasonable Questions 101: if there is a God, why is there suffering?

Awful things happen all the time.  The newspapers are full of bad news.  Perhaps that's what sells.  Or perhaps the world really is pretty awful place.

The Bangkok bombing.  The Sabah earthquake.  The Ebola outbreak.  MH370.  Disease.  Famine.  Poverty.  Divorce.  Job loss.  Death of a loved one.

So the question is, if there is a God, and a good God, then why on earth is there suffering?

To answer that question, it makes sense to start with the nature of God and the intent of His plan.  Who is this God who permits suffering, and why is He allowing it?  The Bible explains that God created the heavens and the earth, and that He created man, in His own image.  This last bit is critical. Imagine - God, awesome creator of the heavens and the earth - made you, in His image.  So we too, like God, can create.  Make choices.  We are not slaves to animal instinct.  We have freedom to choose.

And unfortunately, freedom of choice can be used for good or bad.  When used for bad... well, you've seen the results of our messed up world.  Shootings, corruption, adultery and broken families... the list goes on.

But when used for good, there's nothing more beautiful.  Like the church volunteer who elects to spend time and effort to feed the poor.  As opposed to the litterer who's forced by court order to clean up the streets he messed up.

The point is, God has given us the potential, here on earth, to be beautiful.  To choose good.  But we don't want it.  We turn away.  We choose our own way.  For many reasons.  And God knows that when we turn away, there are awful consequences.

The most obvious consequence is this.  No matter how much happiness you may find in this life, and yes, despite everything, there is still much happiness to be found... at the end, we all pass away.  And no matter how much money you have, no matter how loving your family, no matter how caring your friends, no matter how healthy you are... you will have trouble.  One day, a CEO's brilliant career will end.  One day, your loved ones will pass on.  One day, you will get ill.

So if God is good, why does He allow this?  If He is omnipotent, why doesn't He just create a world where suffering does not exist?

He did.

But we walked away, starting with Adam and Eve.  We chose our own path.  And once we do that, eternity fades.  We enjoy our own lives.  We take holidays.  We enjoy our food.  We bring up our families.

But all the while, thorns infest the ground that we till.  We hurt those around us with our ambition.  We withhold good from those who need it with our selfishness.  Illness and old age come upon us.

Like the captain and the passengers of the Titanic, we marvel at the great unsinkable ship that our lives appear to be.  We steer the ship our own way.  There is an iceberg that will sink us where we are heading.  But we refuse to believe it.  There is still time while the band plays.

But.  God loves us so much that He pursues us.  He sends people - your friends, your family who have already heard Him - to tell us to get onto the lifeboats and to safety.  He sent His very own Son to die so that we would hear.  We still don't listen.  We still think the ship will just keep on sailing.  There's a massive iceberg looming ahead.  The ship will hit it and sink.  It is an inevitability.  But as long as the boat sails serenely on, no one believes it.  We are young, we are healthy, we have money, we have time, we have choice... we are unsinkable!

So He has to send a storm.  Rock the boat.  Now, do you see?  This ship will not hold!  Some people fall off the ship, screaming.  See!  He says.  This ship WILL NOT HOLD.  Come with me, off this sinking ship.  There is one way out!  We still don't listen.  The huge iceberg looms ahead.  But the band still plays.  The food is sumptuous, the music beguiling.  And everybody else still seems to be dancing.  See how mighty this ship is!  Just a little while more.

Look, I tell you, this ship will not hold!  And He rocks the ship again.  One of the smaller icebergs even knocks a hole in it.  Water rushes in.  He loves the people on the ship so much that He cannot bear to leave them all to crash onto the huge iceberg and sink.  See how the boat lists and wallows!  See how it cannot bear the wind and the waves, or even that smaller iceberg!  You HAVE to get off!  Before it's too late!

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So... what is our choice?

One of the first things new believers should hear is this.  Now that you have accepted Christ as your Lord and Saviour, the angels rejoice!  But this does not mean that everything will be happy and successful from now on (even though God's love for us is indeed so extravagant that even on the sinking ship he will provide for us moments of joy and success).  Jesus says, "In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world."  John 16:33

In this world.  You.  Will.  Have.  Trouble.  But.

God needs us to see that it is a sinking ship.  If nothing bad ever happened, no one would yearn for anything else. No one would see the broken world for what it is.  We would hold on to the imperfect world, and give up the perfect eternal.

We say, "But I like this ship.  All my nice stuff is on it.  My health, my job, my hobbies, my family, my friends.  Why can't you just make this ship stay forever and not sink?"  "But I have already done that." God says."Follow me and see the new ark I have prepared.  Even better.  No holes knocked in it.  No icebergs.  It's where I wanted you to go in the first place." And then we willingly, joyfully, make our choice.  Follow Him.  And it's beautiful.

My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you also may be where I am.  You know the way to the place where I am going.  John 14:2-4