It was one of those conversations at the office door. Some of the team were there and we were just nattering about ministry situations and so forth – as we often do in the office. Often these conversations lead on to all kinds of animated theological-philosophical discussions, and these are incredibly enlightening at times. (I learn so much from my colleagues). There is no pre-arranged agenda for these conversations, it’s all very spontaneous, and a whole range of issues might be explored.
Like suffering.
Yep, that’s a bit of what we kicked around on Tuesday. I’m of the view that us Aussies are a nation of pain-avoiders. We mostly don’t like to face suffering – whatever kind – and we work hard to avoid it - or medicate it. Mind you, I am not saying suffering is fun. It isn’t. But sometimes it is necessary, if unavoidable. Very few Christians know how to properly face suffering and learn from it. Is suffering some random thing? It kind of looks like it is, sometimes. We mostly cannot predict the circumstances in which we will experience it, or how long or intense it might be. Sometimes the trigger is completely left field while, at other times, for example, an illness is diagnosed, (its symptoms quite mild and bearable initially), but the prognosis is a gradual worsening of the condition which we know will eventually be attended by … suffering.
Is suffering avoidable? Well, looking at the world in which I live, I don’t think so. It does come to all of us to a lesser or greater extent somewhere along our life journey. So, how do we handle it when it comes? Is there a purpose in suffering? Apart from debating whether or not God “causes” suffering (that’s a debate for another time) I do think that God sometimes allows suffering. Jesus suffered for our sins. The apostle Paul suffered all manner of privations and hardships for the sake of the Gospel. The apostle John survived several attempts to end his life, and ended up exiled to the mines of Patmos Island in his nineties – because of his ministry! God allowed these sufferings for His glory and His kingdom cause – and they were not brief moments of pain, either. On one level we could argue that these examples were ‘macro suffering experiences’ – they went past private personal experiences to form part of God’s great plan. But there are ‘micro suffering experiences’, too. That’s when suffering is very personal and, at the time may be quite private, and seem as if it has nothing to do with God’s great plan, at all.
But I think all suffering and the way we handle it, is part of God’s great plan. Why? Well, I was struck by several things C. S. Lewis wrote back in 1940 in his eye-opening book, “The Problem of Pain”. For example, “…the possibility of pain is inherent in the very existence of a world where souls can meet. When souls become wicked they will certainly use this possibility to hurt one another” (page 89). But why doesn’t God stop man’s inhumanity to man? What about natural evils? Why is there “suffering, anguish, tribulation, adversity, or trouble?” (page 90). Lewis’ view is that pain (or suffering, which is prolonged pain), is God’s tool to nudge us toward our ultimate aim in life: self-surrender - putting God’s will above our own, death to self, and mortification (of the flesh life). When we do this, he argues, we’ll be happy (page 90), we’ll imitate Jesus. And Jesus, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross (Hebrews 12:2), understood suffering as self-surrender. There is just so much we could discuss here, but space does not permit!
Suffice to carefully reflect on the following two scriptures to gain some basic understanding about a theology of suffering as self-surrender. The apostle Paul nailed it – twice. Once when he said,
Philippians 3:10-11 (NIV)
“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of His resurrection and participation in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.”
He had cottoned on to something about embracing suffering as part of his self-surrendering to God and death to self in order that he might experience more and more of the resurrection life of Christ. He didn’t know exactly how it all worked, but he did understand that suffering was a key factor in learning the death of self (flesh), without which, as Jesus demonstrated, there can be no resurrection. Paul nails the issue again when he said …
Romans 8:28 (NIV)
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
The whole context here is Paul discussing suffering. Regardless, somehow, God works it all for good if we embrace it with integrity. Again he infers that he has no idea how God works this – but He does. It’s still somewhat of a mystery. Someone once said (I forget now who), “Nothing forces a person to confront their true self like suffering. Suffering causes our focus to turn inward, to face those parts of ourselves we might otherwise ignore. God can use suffering then to develop us into better people: the people who can love and enjoy Him forever!”
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” - James 1:2-4 (NIV)
Think on these things.
Ps Milton