If God is good, why is there so much pain and suffering in the world?
We who believe in the Blessed Hope can at least be comforted knowing suffering is not eternal. But why is there so much unfairness in the world; even extreme suffering? Is there any purpose to it? What is it intended to teach us? I think the answer lies in the significance of the “Body” of Christ.
“There is one body.” “The body is not one member but many.” “I pray that they may be one.” “Bear one another’s burdens.” “Bear with one another in love.” “That the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity…and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body. 20
There are eighty “one another” phrases in the N.T.! You find them everywhere! Could it be that through our oneness, the experiences of individuals become the experience, lessons, and wisdom of all?
It is evident that in God’s sovereign will, we all must go through degrees of pain and suffering; some less, some more. I believe that through our oneness in God’s Spirit, we all bear with Christ (identify with and participate in) the burdens of humanity. We must learn the full measure of the sickness of sin, and even more wonderfully, the full redemption and contrasting grace and love of our Father!
When we all become one in Christ and knit together, there will no longer be an issue of fairness in suffering. Each will identify and truly empathize with each other’s pain. The lessons gained from the experience of the world’s full history of sin will be everyone’s to share. This gives deep meaning to all pain and the oneness we experience as members of His body. We are all one. Our brother and sister’s pain is our own! Our gracious Father will nurture this attitude in us more and more as we mature in Christ. [I thank Derek Calder for this inspiring thought.]
References:
20 Ep. 4:4; 1Co. 12:14; Jn. 17:21; Ga.6:2; Ep. 4:2, 13
Taken from Hope Beyond Hell page 230-231
