What is God doing about suffering and why is it taking Him so long? Does He not care?
There’s a story in the Bible where Jesus hears the news of a sickness threatening the life of His friend Lazarus. When He arrives, Lazarus is already dead. Jesus cries with Lazarus’ sisters because he cares. When Lazarus died, Jesus restored him to life showing those gathered to mourn that whoever trusts Jesus will live, even if they die. Jesus came from the comfort of heaven to earth because He cares. He entered suffering to put an end to it. God is working patiently to free the world He made from suffering, offering us hope for a world where pain is undone, injustice is overturned, and evil is defeated forever.
Jesus told His followers that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed that grows into a huge tree, taking over the garden and providing places for birds to rest. It’s easy to miss a mustard seed. It’s easy to miss the ways in which God is at work in the world. But one day the work God has done will reshape the entire garden. Something that once seemed vulnerable – like a tiny little bird snack – will redefine the lives of every living thing. When Jesus was crucified and buried, no one knew the suffering of the nations was ending, but His followers noticed the shoot of life poking up from the ground: Jesus rose from the dead. The beginning of all things being made new.
We’re still waiting for the world described in Revelation where God and humanity dwell together in intimacy free from death and mourning and pain, but we can see a glimpse of Him making all things new every time one of us turns away from a self-directed life to live a life of love for God and others. Even so, why does all this feel so painfully slow?
Jesus tells His followers a parable about a farmer who sows some seeds. An enemy comes in the night and plants weeds among the wheat. The farmer decides to wait because pulling the weeds up before the wheat has grown would destroy his harvest. Peter, one of the guys who heard that parable, later wrote a letter to churches that were wondering why it was taking Jesus so long to get rid of suffering. He explains that God isn’t being slow; He’s being patient. He doesn’t want anyone to perish, but wants everyone, like rebellious children who’ve run away from home, to return to Him and live. Judgment is how the world will be freed from suffering, but what’s judgment for the weed is freedom for the wheat. The problem is, we aren’t the “wheat”. If God removed all our suffering, how long would we last before we brought it back? How long could we keep choosing love before going back to convenience, a mean comment, or a tasty bit of gossip? Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, and then the priests started making plans to make him dead again.
Suffering isn’t our biggest problem, it’s a side effect of our biggest problem. We’ve rejected the God who made us and His ways. Until this problem is solved, suffering can only ever be relieved, not removed. God has made a way for our fickle hearts to die with Jesus and for us to receive life instead of death, a heart that loves God instead of a hardened heart. We’re living in a time of amnesty where God withholds His judgment, patiently waiting for us to turn and live. It’s easy for us to recognise the problems in the rest of the world. It’s harder to see them in ourselves. Are you asking God to do something about the world without including yourself in its list of problems?
The crucifixion demonstrates how God brings something good out of something evil. God turns that horrific event into the moment in which sin and evil receive a death blow. The crucifixion and resurrection show us we can marvel at God’s ability to take evil and brokenness and from it produce new life! That’s the story of the Bible. At times this view may be unsatisfying and it’s our right to grieve suffering, but there is hope.
Video interview with Alanzo and Clare, article written by Jack Barraclough and Brianna Gregoriou
