How can a loving God look upon His creation without doing something about our suffering?

Q: How can a loving God look upon His creation without doing something about our suffering? – S.D.

A: The Bible makes it plain that there is suffering in the world because there’s sin in the world. The heart of the problem lies in man’s alienation from God which began with Adam and Eve. If the separation which sin creates had not entered into the life of mankind, human suffering would not exist in the world.

By willful disobedience to God’s Word and commandment, man brought suffering upon himself and has been reaping what has been sown all through the centuries. But God has a way of bringing good out of evil. Not only does human suffering break the heart of God, it moved Him so much that He put a plan in place to bring comfort, healing, and salvation in the midst of such sorrow.

No one in history ever suffered more than Jesus. The culmination of His suffering came on the cross of Calvary, the supreme symbol of both physical and spiritual suffering. This is clearly presented in the pages of the Bible that points us all to the cross of Christ. It’s there that we find forgiveness of sins and the solution to the dilemmas and problems that face us both corporately and individually.

Humanity wants comfort in its sorrow, light in its darkness, peace in its mind, rest in its weariness, and healing in its sickness and disease. The Gospel of Christ gives all of this to us. “May the God of all grace… after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you” (1 Peter 5:10). When tragedy happens to us, it gives us a greater sense of oneness with others who experience tragedy. When we have received God’s comfort, we in turn are able to comfort others. This is the hope we have in Christ.

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(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)

(c)2020 BILLY GRAHAM DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.