In creating the physical world, God made a place that is complete
for what he intended to accomplish with
it. If man had never sinned, he could have remained in the Garden
of Eden paradise forever. However,
because God knows all that is the object of knowledge (omniscience),
he knew that man of his own free
will would sin and thereby be alienated from him. Hence, from eternity
in the mind of God there was
found the great scheme of redemption (Ephesians 3:7-11). Therefore,
the world today is a place of preparation
for eternity. If life in the flesh in this material world is used
for that purpose, one rids himself of all manner of
worry, frustration, and anguish that characterizes those who live
in the flesh as if this world is their permanent
abode. Hence, when all is said and done, we understand that God
never intended for the world to be man’s
eternal home, but an environment wherein man could prepare to be
with God eternally in heaven (Ecclesiastes
12:13,14; Matthew 6:33; II Corinthians 5:1-10; I Corinthians 15:42-49;
Revelation 2:10).
Because “God is love” (I John 4:8), he could not create man as some
kind of robot. In giving man a free will, he
made it possible for him to make choices. When man makes wrong choices
he must suffer for his bad
selections. Without suffering the consequences of bad choices, man
does not learn to value good over evil.
Without the space for a detailed study let us briefly note that
man undergoes suffering due to a number of
reasons.
Wrong Personal Choices: Man is at fault when he murders, steals
and rapes. Because God made man with
freedom of choice, he does not stop the crime nor set aside the
consequences of such sins AT THIS TIME (I
John 3:4; I Peter 4:15; John 12:48).
Wrong Personal Choices Made by Others: When a deranged person decides
to shoot as many school children as
possible, such children are not necessarily suffering from anything
wrong they did, but because of the wrong
committed by the deranged person.
Wrong Personal Choices of Our Forefathers: Today we reap the benefits
of Pasteur, Bell, and Edison. At the
same time, we continue to be plagued with the consequences of false
religions and philosophies.
The terrible and sad condition of the world is man’s fault. In the
Garden of Eden, before man sinned, he was
free of disease, death, and all the other consequences of sin (Genesis
3:22, 23). But, when man sinned, the
whole of creation was affected (Romans 5:12; 8:18-22).
In the area of sexual relations, venereal diseases are examples
of what happens to man when he violates God’s
laws (Romans 1:24-27). There is no doubt that over the thousands
of years since man’s fall, many germs and
viruses have mutated. Therefore, such diseases as AIDS appear. In
the natural catastrophes (floods,
earthquakes, etc. are no doubt the result of sin entering the world.)
Please study closely the state of the world
before and after the flood (Genesis 1:6,7; 2:5,6; 6, 8).
God’s natural laws are constant, consistent, and dependable. When
we violate them in ignorance, innocence, or
otherwise, we suffer the consequences. How terrible it would be
if man never knew whether the law of gravity
was going to work or not.
While I do not understand all of the design, purpose, and value
of pain, I do know that it is an indicator with
which man is better than he is without it. How many serious injuries
are avoided because of painful warnings?
Painful suffering and other kinds of trial develop the mind with
the understanding that all things in this
physical world are uncertain, fleeting and will cease altogether
someday (James 1:1-5). The sufferings of this
present world cause the wise to prepare so they will not miss heaven
(Job 3:17; Romans 8:18).
Before Jesus gave up the form of God, he, being omniscient, knew
man’s plight. Yet, knowing such, he chose
to give up the form of God and take upon himself the form of mankind.
He thereby exposed himself to the
actual life and experiences of a sin plagued world. What an amazing
testimony to God’s love for mankind! No
one can ever accuse the Lord of not understanding what it is like
to actually suffer (Philippians 2:5-8; Hebrews
4:14-16; 5:8).
After days of prayer and fasting on behalf of his sick child, King
David’s child died. David did not continue
mourning, but arose; and in his answer to those who questioned why,
with the child’s death, he did not
continue mourning, he revealed the inner strength that has always
characterized the faithful: “Can I bring him
back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me” (II
Samuel 12:23).
In this life we can never understand all that is involved in suffering
because we do not know the whole design
of God for man (Romans 11:33, 34). However, we do know enough to
realize that life is God’s classroom, the
Bible God’s textbook, and, as God has designed this world and the
people who live in it, a great many tests try
our faith in God and his system of salvation. As the apostle John
wrote: “…we know that the whole world lieth
in wickedness” (I John 5:19). No matter what the situation, a man’s
duty is to do God’s will. Thereby,
Christians are abundantly sustained by the mighty hand of our maker
(I Corinthians 15:54; Revelation 2:10;
4:11). Let us, therefore, not be dismayed by the workings of the
present sinful world. Let us meet every problem
with the counsel of the God who knows best.
—David P. Brown, Spring, TX