My Driving question is if God loves us why He allows us to suffer. If God is real then why does he allow us to suffer? This question is arguably as old as religion. Besides, it is a stumbling block for some individuals, and more significantly for many more people especially during moments of tragedy. Before attempting to answer the question, and explore its relation to Shadowlands, it is paramount to define the question first in order to make its implications more clear. At the heart of the question, there is a notable doubt in God’s goodness, “If God loves us.” From the start, it is evident that God is being criticized and judged by the question. This is followed by the second phrase which states that “Why does He allow us to suffer?” It is clear from the second phrase that people make an assumption that God has enough power and control of the world to stop people from suffering (Kushner 2008). Therefore, if He can prevent suffering, why does He allow it to occur to his creations? Various answers have been offered to answer this question by people who are interested in theological dialogue including Christian philosophers, and many victims of suffering. Furthermore, literature and particularly those of biblical nature have exploited this biblical nature to the fullest in different types of forms.
I am pretty sure that we have all been down at a particular moment in our lives and we have all prayed to God hoping that he will send us a blessing. But despite our efforts on prayer, we seem to still have to endure pain and our prayers are never answered. This is sometimes discouraging and may cause us to lose faith in God. However, what many of us do not know is that this is just a test. The Catechism explains all of this thoroughly and in details. God uses malicious methods of the world to propel his people and remind and always reminding them of the eternal life; an opportunity that they stand to possess Jesus our father knows all of what we need (Hardon 2011).
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Jesus asks for childlike abandonment to the providence of our heavenly Father who takes care of the smallest needs of His children (Hardon 2011). As long as we have faith in Him we shall not worry. God has a plan for us all, and although sometime His plan may be confusing it is always with you in mind. One fundamental understanding is that people should grasp is that although God allows bad things to happen to us, he does not cause them to happen. Many bad things that happen to human beings happen because of the fact that God gives a radical freedom to his people. We are all God’s people and are free, not like puppets on a string. However, God is not the cause of the bad things that we experience in our lives. God loves us as his creation; he grieves with us during our pain when we are faced with bad things.
Therefore, the best response to this stumbling question might be that God does not will bad things to happen to us. On the contrary, bad things occur because of the freedom that God has given to control and take responsibility for their deeds. Evil is mainly caused by the free will of humans (Kushner 2008). Some major arguments that may lead to this conclusion are the laws of nature. If the laws of nature would be extremely flexible it would mean that from time to time, gravity would not operate in its normal form all the time as we are used to; it might sometime fail. Besides, sometimes an object would be soft and sometimes be solid hard. Essentially, there would be no sciences because the world would not have any enduring structures that scientist can investigate. Furthermore, no one would be hurt by anyone or anything thus making the world to be a perfect fairytale. Life as we know it would be like a dream that humans and other beings would drift and float with ease delightfully and aimlessly (Kushner 2008).
It is worth noting that the existence of evil in the world allows people to enable people to learn what is good from bad, faith and grace (Sanders 1998). Besides, if evil did not exist then how could we be able to distinguish what is right from that which is wrong; it would have been impossible to practically to so. This is because there would be no moral lesson to be learned from or taught since there is no wrong. Noteworthy, a wrong can occur in a setting that evil exists. Furthermore, strength, bravery, and courage would be irrelevant and have no point. Every other thing that builds our character would not be in existence (Sanders 1998).
Personally, I believe that God does not wish any person bad in this world. However, in order for me to be a witness to this for others, it is paramount that I first recognize the unconditional and unlimited nature of God to me and only then would I be able to proclaim God’s might. It is now clear to me without any doubt that my God never wishes bad not only for me but for everyone else in the world. I have witnessed and heard people claim that the bad things that face humans all over the world challenge the existence of God. The wonder how there can be a God who tolerates evil to befall his creation. My answer to such people would be assuring them that God really does exist and that he deeply cares for his children.
Undoubtedly, God cares so much that he sacrificed himself to get crucified and die in order to relieve us from our sin and so that we might live. I am a firm believer that our suffering comes as a result of straying or separation from God. God is holy, all loving, all might and everything that is good. Every day I stumble and do things that steer me away from him and anytime this happens, the world becomes worse for me. I cannot do any good thing when I am apart from God. As a matter of fact, the more I distance myself from God the more chances I have of causing other people pain or harm. I believe that Christianity is mostly about God seeking humankind out, and calling everyone back to him. We are separated from God in this life so we must experience suffering. However, if everyone takes the precious gift of life given to us by God and uses it to answer God’s call and he will deliver us all into eternal peace. God has given us a choice. However, many people choose to reject him.
Creation has its own goodness and proper perfection, but it did not spring forth complete from the hands of the Creator. The universe was created "in a state of journeying" (in statu viae) toward an ultimate perfection yet to be attained, to which God has destined it. We call "divine providence" the dispositions by which God guides his creation toward this perfection (Hardon 2011). God's ultimate goal is for us to be perfect. As long as we have faith he will show us the way. For example, as time goes on the world grows better and more perfect because God guides us. God is always watching even when he does not answer he is watching. His presents are felt but not seen. His powers are boundless and limitless. Through him, all the things that move and have their being can live. God is the ruler of heaven and earth and all the creatures in such a way that anything that befalls his creation, whether failure or success, adversity or blessing and life or death, nothing that happens to us or around us are as a result of random circumstances (Hasker 2004). Christians should be confident that everything that comes to them is from the hand of our wise and ever-loving God.
God is the sovereign master of his plan. But to carry it out he also makes use of his creatures' co-operation. This use is not a sign of weakness, but rather a token of almighty God's greatness and goodness. For God grants his creatures not only their existence, but also the dignity of acting on their own, of being causes and principles for each other, and thus of co-operating in the accomplishment of his plan (Hardon 2011). God uses "us" his creatures to work towards his plan of perfection. He allows us to make our own decisions but guides us along the way. The main purpose in this is that God has a plan for us but he still gives us free will and that giving us free will is part of his plan. Blessings are not the last link in a chain produced by libertarian free will.
To human beings, God even gives the power of freely sharing in his providence by entrusting them with the responsibility of "subduing" the earth and having dominion over it. God, therefore, enables men to be intelligent and free causes in order to complete the work of creation, to perfect its harmony for their own good and that of their neighbors. Though often unconscious collaborators with God's will, they can also enter deliberately into the divine plan by their actions, their prayers, and their sufferings. They then fully become "God's fellow workers" and co-workers for his kingdom (Hardon 2011). God gives men the power of sharing in his providence. Providence is the everlasting and almighty power of our creator by which he upholds by his palm, earth, and heaven as well as all creatures, and thus rules everything. As a matter of fact, everything comes to us, not through chance or luck bit through God’s hand. God created the world and everything in it but gives us control of it. He gave us the tools to be our own little God's. We created things in this world; things that did not exist during creation; this is due to God’s free will towards human beings.
However, people must never forget that providence is more than the natural exercise of power. It is definitely correct to proclaim that God has authority and might and a sovereign sway on everything. But the biblical teachings on providence take a further leap and states that all the authority and power and sovereignty is for us from our loving God whose intentions are to do good for all his children. The might of providence has a benevolent function. The knowledge of providence helps us in many ways, and the Catechism offers a threefold answer to this claim: First is that we can be patient whenever things go wrong or against our expectation (Hardon 2011). Providence is not only based on the belief that God is writing the history of the world but also trusting that he is writing your history. For instance, when Joseph was locked up or when Moses was left floating down the River Nile, no one could have guessed the good that the Almighty had in store for them. Besides, there are not a single character in the bible who trusted the lord in vain. Secondly, we must be thankful to God when our things go well as we anticipated or even past our expectation (Hardon 2011). If you love God’s sovereignty, it is crucial that you thank him for it. As a matter of fact, Calvinists ought to be the happiest people in the world because we of all people have more reason to be thankful. It is a known fact that no gift is received as an accident and that there is nothing good that comes to us by luck. If you have a family, a job and other basic needs, it is crucial to acknowledge and give God thanks for his gratefulness. Our God is better than Amazon since he sends us packaged of new mercy from day to day and his shipping is always free of charge. Finally, for the future, we should have confidence in God (Hardon 2011). God’s promise to Abraham never seemed like a sure bet. However, Abraham had faith and was confidence in the future. As his children, God is always at work steering, leading and carrying out his functions. Just like parents, God is our father and we are his daughters and sons. He loves us and wants us to grow up to be mature women and men. Like parents, God wants the best for us and unlike our earth parents, God always knows what is best for us.
God can reveal the future to his prophets. If you don't have faith in God then he cannot have faith in you which is improvidence. A sound Christian attitude consists in putting oneself confidently into the hands of Providence for whatever concerns the future and giving up all unhealthy curiosity about it. Improvidence, however, can constitute a lack of responsibility. We must not fear the future or get anxious about the trials. Also, we should not be nervous about God’s blessing either as if God will one day awake and notice that for your whole life you have been consuming spiritual dew from the mountain and suddenly give you spiritual broccoli to feed on for the rest of your life. Do not be scared that our Father will one day suddenly start balancing the scale and submit you to more suffering. With God, there is no balancing of scales and that is the most fundamental aspect of providence. Our Father is always for his children and his creation. He does not make his children pay for the fun things that they did on earth with prolonged pain. What he is mainly interested in is our good and does not vacillate whether to love or loathe his children. God’s affection is set upon us and his providence focuses on the spiritual wellbeing in Christ. This is not only the story of the Old Testament but also your story regardless of how your chapter is like and how it would have been written differently. After reading the providence in the catechism; I am a firm believer in God and his plan for me. I believe that God plans for us our way and he gets his way. Most significantly, his ways are always good.
References
Hardon, J. (2011). The Catholic Catechism: a contemporary catechism of the teachings of the Catholic Church . Image.
Hasker, W. (2004). Providence, evil and the openness of God (Vol. 3). Psychology Press.
Kushner, H. S. (2008). Why Do The Righteous Suffer? Notes Toward a Theology of Tragedy. Judaism , 28 (3), 316.
Sanders, J. (1998). The God who risks: A theology of providence . InterVarsity Press.
