Lavender & Lace

Me: “God, why do you allow pain and suffering to exist in the world?”

God: “Why do you?”

Over the past many months, I have watched the horrors unveil in Gaza. The screams of mothers, fathers, and children echo in my ears. And I cannot help but wrestle with the question of, “Why?”

The problem of evil. The age old debate that puts God on trial for the sufferings of human beings gifted with the ability to choose.

“If God is so big and so powerful then he must be in control. He must have the ability to intervene. And when he doesn’t, that must mean he is evil.”

Or at least, that is how I’ve heard the argument described.

One of my favorite literary books of the Bible is Job. I know you’re not supposed to have favorites, so don’t tell anyone. But, I have reaped so many benefits from studying that books and the depth of knowledge that it provides. Not just about suffering, but also about the character of God.

And the things I have taken away from Job:

1. Hold all things loosely.

We live in a world where death is a reality that none of us will escape. There’s a reason we, as humans, fight against it so much. We are created beings who were meant to live in perfect communion with God apart from death. When sin entered the world, so did death. And it will come to us all; the people we love, the things we cherish, and in own lives. It’s inescapable.

2. God is bigger than we imagine.

It has always been the temptation of the people of God to stuff God into a box, give it a pretty red bow and tell everyone; “He’s just like us, only bigger.” And this is just absolutely not the case.

There is this beautiful part of the book where Job finally speaks to God and questions him. And God allows him to speak his mind. He doesn’t squash him or tell him to be quiet. He allows Job to vocalize his hurt and his questions without any hindrance. And God answers him.

Now, I do not take the Book of Job literally. Some people do and that’s fine. But I don’t believe Job was an actually person, nor to I believe the story actually took place. Rather, I take it to be inspired literature meant to instruct us about the relationship we are to have with God and a depiction about His character.

When God speaks he describes to Job the creation of the world, the spiritual beasts and warfare that is unseen, and at one point even asks Job; “Do you think you could do better?”

They have a face to face conversation and it is in many ways entirely unlike an human/divine interaction depicted anywhere else in the world. I think it’s beautiful. But that’s a topic for another day.

3. God gave humans free will.

This gets overlooked in a lot of apologetic debate that I’ve heard and I think it is problematic because it speaks to the root of the problem all together.

When God created humans He created them with the ability to choose whether or not to loved him- we call this free will. This is important because He could have chosen to create us as more heavenly hosts or as robots. But He didn’t, why? Because what kind of love is more genuine? Love that is feely given. But in doing so, He also chose to limit himself and his ability to interact with us. In the Old Testament, for example, we read about how God chose to dwell, physically, among human beings. But He had to give very careful instruction about how things needed to be done in order for humans to not just be immediately obliterated by this presence.

The Old Testament is also full of depictions of the unseen spiritual realm and the laws that govern what can and cannot happen in our universe. It tells us that evil is a real, tangible, thing, with a being at the top who has been handed over dominion of the earth. So, right there, we know that there are things that we know very little about.

But we think, man wouldn’t it be cool if God just showed up and changed things? Wouldn’t it be cool if He just appeared in front of bad people and took their weapons away? Wouldn’t it be easier if He’d just grab hold of the reins and prove to everyone that He actually exists?!

And my response to that is no. I do not see that as being better, I see that as corrosion. Because love that is not freely given is not love at all.

It you say, sure, but in the case of war and genocide-how can you be so sure when He seems to silent.

Well I don’t believe that. I believe He is actively at work, every minute of every day, rescuing those who call on His name. This is what the scriptures teach and this the reality of my own life…I mean, how is it that alone in my apartment I can pray a prayer of desperation and feel the presence of God, move in such a real and tangible way, but at the same to believe he is not present with others when they also cry out?

I think that God raises up people, gifted with certain abilities to do things on the ground that need to be done; wether is it to speaking publicly, or treating injuries as doctors, to cook food when food is scarce, or to stand up and call others to action.

I do not believe God is silent.

I do not believe that God sits up in a cloud somewhere, completely disconnect from the pain of the humans he created.

I do not believe that God is cruel.

And the reason I do not believe this is because he humbled himself in the form and person of Jesus of Nazareth. God invaded the universe and stormed Normandy beach when he appeared on the earth. He chose to come down, suffer the burden of existing in a human body, to be overcome with emotion, and be tortured and die a physical death at the hands of those he created.

I believe that Jesus is the answer to the problem of evil. Because he did not spare himself from it.

So while I watch the news reels and am challenged to find answers to the age old question to satisfy those waving their fists at God, I am reassured by these loving words;

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:34

This will not last forever. There will be a day when He returns. When God, himself, will wipe away every tear from our eyes and there will be no more death, no more sorrow, and no more pain. That is the hope we hold onto until then.

And in the mean time; I believe He is calling each of us to find what He has gifted us to do, to help, and to go do it.

He will fight with us and for us, but we have to be willing to move.

“He will wipe away every tear fromtheir eyes, and ⁱdeath shall be no more,^jneither shall there be mourning, norcrying, nor pain anymore, for the formerthings have passed away.” Revelation 21:4

“He will swallow up death forever;

and ^the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces,

and ^the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth” Isaiah 25:8

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