Gerard Chrispin tackles the world’s most frequently asked question. The question which can’t be brushed under the carpet.

‘Why is there suffering in the world?’ ‘If there is a God, why is there suffering?’ ‘Why do the innocent suffer?’ ‘Why do bad people prosper?’ ‘Why me?’ ‘Why doesn’t God stop the suffering?’ ‘How can God allow suffering?’

  How many times have you heard similar questions? Surely ‘Why suffering?’ must be the question most asked on this planet? It covers tsunamis and terrorism, crime and cruelty, fraud and famine, brutality and bereavement, sickness and sadism, violence and venereal disease, war and wickedness, and Aids and accidents. Young and old are affected. It knows no bounds of age, colour, class, nationality, race or religion. Some ask ‘Why suffering?’ just to debate it. For others it reveals a sufferer’s genuine heart-cry. Many use it as a smoke screen – giving an excuse not to face up to God’s existence.

But the same question drives some to the Bible to seek answers. One bereaved mother I knew, distressed over losing her child, prayed and read the Bible. She later became a convinced Christian.

The question which won’t go away

That question hounds us continually and knows no geographical bounds. TV news and newspapers cannot avoid it. Why are children abused? Why do teenagers bully and murder? Why do babies die of starvation? Why do innocent partners get Aids? Why the casualties in earthquakes or disasters? Why war? It gets more personal. Why is my father dying with cancer? Why is my wife unfaithful? Why did I lose my job? Why is it my single daughter is pregnant? Why do I have this disease? Everyone must face the question. Yet few bother to think it through and reach a satisfying conclusion that meets the deepest need of present or future sufferers. (That’s you and me, by the way!)

‘It’s not fair!’ Would anyone receiving an unexpected gain use his ‘good luck’ as a reason to doubt God or say ‘that’s unfair’? Would a lottery winner complain that God does not exist because he or she won five million pounds whilst half the world starves? ‘Life is not fair’ is usually only expressed by losers or sufferers or people concerned for them. But unfairness is a fact of life. As Bill Gates said ‘Life is unfair – get used to it!’ Perfect justice cannot be found this side of Heaven. We all live and suffer in one way or another. We will all die. Like it or not – it will happen! Why do some proclaiming ‘it’s unfair’ lie, steal or cheat and climb over others to get on? ‘Unfairness’ does not seem to bother them personally or morally – they only use it to criticise God – if He exists, of course!

‘Why suffering?’ as an excuse

‘Removing’ God has moved, over the years, from ‘God is dead’ to the current view of religious atheists, like Professor Dawkins, that He never existed. The first view makes it illogical. If God is ‘dead’, He could never have been God, the eternal One! The T shirt of one young man in the ‘Hippy’ era displayed two slogans. The front revealed ‘My God is not dead!’ The back added ‘Sorry to hear about yours!’ The second view reflects arrogant and religious dogma. Atheism’s desire and religious belief that there is no God flies in the face of clear contrary evidence. Atheism is a leap into the dark. Christianity is a leap into the light.

Atheists bolster their position by stating that if God existed He would not allow suffering. From that doubtful conclusion they argue in a circle that suffering therefore shows that there is no God. How convenient to avoid considering seriously the evidence for God’s existence! It provides an excuse for refusing to read the gospels humbly with an open enquiring mind. The Bible says that ‘The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God”’. That blind prejudice can be camouflaged in the argument – ‘If there is a God, why is there suffering?’

A question that demands an answer!

But some do ask sincerely ‘How can God allow suffering?’ They seek the answer. (I have just written a 32 page photo-illustrated booklet to address that very question.) Some do have a genuine doubt about God, or are distressed at seeing people – especially relatively innocent people – go through pain, loss, anguish and anxiety. The Bible answers by dealing first with the past and then with the future, before applying its answer to the ‘here and now’.

In the beginning there was no suffering. God created a perfect world. All the things now feared and dreaded were absent. No death, no mourning, no crying, no pain! Enter the first man and woman into the world. Using their God-given power of choice they chose to ‘do it their way’ and disobey God’s command. Sin became a reality bringing spiritual death, separating man from God, and man from man. In the train of rebellion against God came a catalogue of evil against fellow men and women.

In judgment God cursed the Earth. It never was the same again. Even creation itself groaned as the death, pain and suffering cycle became a reality of daily living. Man was out of fellowship with God and nature itself suffered too. Human suffering was intensified by man’s continued rebellion against God.

Now fast forward to the time in Heaven when ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain.’ (a quote from the Bible’s last book.) Those who have turned from their sins and asked Christ into their lives to save them will finally be in Heaven. Those who have not will be in Hell.

Why Jesus suffered

So the initial past was without sin and suffering. Sin will be dealt with in the ultimate eternal future. It is just this scene of time which we call ‘now’ where we have the ongoing problem of suffering. The Bible teaches that God is all powerful and could stop suffering at a stroke – and in fact He will do that after Jesus comes again to Earth in great power and glory.

So why not now?

So why does God not stop the suffering now? Peter’s second letter, chapter 3 and verse 9, explains: ‘The Lord is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.’ If God stopped all suffering now, he would have to deal with everyone causing the suffering and judge them for their sins. They would be punished eternally. It would be too late for them to turn from their sins to Jesus Christ and know God’s forgiveness, eternal life and a home in Heaven.

You might think that is deserved for the Hitlers, the mass murderers, the ethnic cleansers, the serial rapists and the paedophile predators – but the Bible says that God would deal with ALL sin and with ALL sinners. That includes hypocrites, liars, blasphemers, thieves, and immoral people – in short it includes YOU and ME.

The only exception is that every wrongdoer who has turned to Christ is forgiven, as explained earlier, because Jesus carried their sins and suffered their punishment on the cross. When Christ returns, He will come as Judge for those failing to repent and receive Him, and as Saviour for those who have trusted Him. God is longsuffering: He gives time for sinners to turn to Him now. But one day it will be too late. That leads me to my last point. 

An answer that demands a question!

God does not stop the suffering immediately in order so that sinners like you and me have the time and the opportunity to turn from our sins and be pardoned and saved for eternity. That is the Bible’s answer. It leads to a probing question to us all. That question from the Bible is: ‘how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?’ Do you have an answer?

We all suffer in life – and sometimes God uses suffering to get our attention and make us call out to Him. But will you escape the far worse suffering of Hell after death? Will you turn to Christ as your Saviour and spend eternity with Him in Heaven? Wonderfully, when you do, you experience His comfort in life too. But that is a different subject.