Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Mar 1/62

Contributor - A. J. Boeve

Title - The Problem of Suffering

Topic - Suffering

Job 1: I - There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was job: and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

Why does God let men suffer? If God is loving and good, why does He allow even His own people to suffer? This question has puzzled men down through the ages.

There is much hardship and suffering on the international scene: Poverty and disease are the not of the masses in Asia. In Hungary, Poland and Red China life is almost unbearable for millions of people. Thousands have been arrested and imprisoned. In Russia, countless numbers have been shipped to Siberia to waste away and work themselves to death. Homes have been broken up. Innocent children have seen fathers killed. They have watched their mothers being raped before their very eyes. Children with tattered clothing and empty stomachs roam the streets in search of food. Everywhere in the world there is Suffering.

Our North American continent is no exception. One can hardly pick up an evening newspaper without reading some story of suffering. A young mother dies of cancer. A young athlete contracts polio in the prime of his youth. A child loses both legs in a terrible highway accident Tornadoes and earthquakes cause untold property damage and bring about loss of life. All about us there is suffering.

Many today find this the deepest reason for their doubts about God and the Christian faith. There are many today who are frankly puzzled by and worry about "the problem of suffering".

Job, an upright and God-fearing man was puzzled and perplexed by this same problem. He found himself deprived of all his earthly possessions. His sons and his daughters were dead; his body was covered with putrid and painful sores. So pitiable and revolting was his condition that his wife wanted him to curse God and die.

Here we are brought face to face with the problem of human suffering. Why did God allow Job to suffer? Why does He permit suffering today if He is loving and all powerful?

In seeking some sort of a solution to the problem of suffering, I would emphasize first of all, that all suffering is ultimately the result of sin. With the entrance of sin into this world came suffering. In a sinless world there would be no suffering. When our first parents, Adam and Eve, fell into sin, suffering became the lot of all mankind. Even the suffering of Christ is intimately related to the sin of man. For had man not fallen into sin, it would not have been necessary for Christ to humble Himself, to suffer and die on the cross.

I would emphasize further, that suffering is not always the result of some particular or specific sin. This is clearly taught in the book of Job and by Christ Himself. The bible teaches that when God sends suffering into the lives of His people, it is usually for one or two reasons. On the one hand, God may occasionally send suffering as a punishment for some specific sin. This was quite frequently the case in the Old Testament We must also realize in connection with this that there are some sins which as it were automatically lead to suffering. For example, There are the sins of sex, of excessive drinking, of drug addiction, etc. But suffering is not always the result of some specific sin. Job's three friends made the mistake of thinking that it was. The disciples of Christ made the same mistake on one occasion when they encountered the man born blind.

Far more often God sends suffering into the lives of His people to test their faith. to woo them more closely to Himself. Job came to recognize and acknowledge this. This is something of which we as Christians should remind ourselves today. God orders our lives in His own wonderful way, sometimes sending joy, sometimes sending sorrow, not according to any narrow scheme of merit and reward, but according to His purpose of grace and glory.

May each one of us lay this truth to heart in times of suffering. Let us remember that God has a purpose in it all. Let us remember that He loves us, and accept His will for our lives with the eye of faith.

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