Recently, a helicopter accidently ran into a passenger airplane and 67 people died. Why? Then, a medical plane crashed; then a small passenger plane crashed in Alaska. We could go on about the forest fires, illnesses, all kinds of tragedies. But answering the “why” of suffering is rarely a simple or concise answer. Why do bad things happen to good people? How can a good God allow so much suffering to occur?In the end, we will have to realize that in this world, we will never fully understand all the mystery surrounding suffering. But the place to start is with faith itself. At the heart of our faith is a cross. Jesus died a cruel death for our salvation. The One who proclaimed to be God. So at the very heart of our faith is the knowledge that God has not remained distant from the problem of human suffering, but has Himself become part of it. Now, that means that God actually understands our suffering. Now, let me go one step further. If that was the end of it, it would be nothing. But the God that suffered on the cross rose from the dead to lead the way into God’s promised eternal home.So, God’s basic answer to suffering is that He took on suffering and death, and provides eternal life; a perfect heavenly existence where justice and perfect life is experienced forever.Now understanding the nature of God’s love, we still wonder “why suffering?” First of all, we must understand that pain is necessary for our survival. We like to think that the world would be a better place if there was no pain, but we must realize that God has given us the ability to experience pain for our own survival. We must feel pain from a fire, or if we cut ourself. Pain tells us something is wrong.The reason that God called many things sinful, is because the outcome of doing those things causes pain, suffering, and destruction. Paul told us, “Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. One who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction” ( Gal. 6:7). A lot of suffering can be traced back to our own sin and mistakes. But let me add an important word of caution: we should not be quick to conclude that someone is suffering because they ...
