Theology of Suffering: Part One
Can there be such a thing as a ‘theology of suffering’? Well, let’s define our words and see. Theology is a study of God, His attributes and His character; it’s what God’s like and why He may allow things to happen in His creation. Scripture confirms that He relates to us, cares and about us, and loves us. We can’t study suffering without having a foundation of who we believe God is.
Let’s begin at the beginning: Genesis. God, Father, Son, and Spirit, created a world in advance of His masterpiece, mankind, and even now sustains it.
He existed before anything else, and He holds all creation together. Colossians 1:17
God declared creation was good. That Hebrew word, tov, means something is beautiful, pleasant to all five senses, advantageous, and beneficial to His image bearers: you and me. That, He declared, was very good, superlative, top of the line; His ultimate best. Our God is good, He’s the supreme best, and He created everything very good, in fact, better than anything else.
Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us His true word. And we, out of all creation, became His prized possession. James 1:17-18
As our Sustainer, God keeps everything going: the earth spins, the world and people reproduce, and He continues to supply our every need. In fact, He’s the Champion of all creation and admires His handiwork: He loves it.
When His image bearers swallowed Satan’s deceptions hook, line, and sinker, sin entered His perfect world and perfect people, but also, the possibility, no, the inevitability of suffering. If you’re not suffering now, just wait, you will in some way: it’s inevitable.
Only as we develop our understanding of the goodness of God can we make sense of suffering. It wasn’t God’s best, tov, He warned Adam not to eat from the tree that gives experiential knowledge of good and evil, however, Adam and Eve disobeyed and opened the door to sin and therefore, suffering. It changed everything … temporarily.
When Jesus resurrected from the dead, after suffering for our sin, He made a new way of living available for believers: He called it ‘kingdom living’. It doesn’t mean we won’t suffer from trials or troubles in this world, but it means you get through to the other side with hope. That’s good theology,
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them. Romans 8:28
Apostle Paul understood the theology of suffering, that He served a good God that wants only good for His people; if you’re struggling with that truth take a moment to reflect on your own theology or understanding of God’s nature and desire for His children.
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