hughbiquitous

You know how sometimes you find a particular subject come up in all kinds of different places with no apparent connection between them?

As cases of suffering and evil come to my attention on many fronts, William Lane Craig’s Q&A page at Reasonable Faith this week addresses the question, “Why Does God Permit Suffering to Continue?” The question specifically asked about Amos 4:6-11. Dr. Craig comments,

As for the passage from Amos, it reminds us powerfully, as C. S. Lewis put it, that Aslan is not a tame lion. People often say that God doesn’t send suffering into our lives but merely allows it. The passage you cite explodes that fairy tale! The ancient Israelites didn’t understand that the calamities that befell them were in fact a severe mercy sent by God for their own well-being, but their intransigence short-circuited the good purpose that God had in mind… non-Christians, used to a Santa Claus God, won’t understand this sort of tough love. But it’s not really difficult to grasp when you reflect that any finite amount of suffering is worth enduring in order to gain eternal joy and to avoid eternal ruin.

The sad news just continues to pour in. One of my college friends writes about the Ebola outbreak in Uganda that has claimed the life of one of their World Harvest Mission colleagues.

It seems that one of the missionary doctors gave an Ebola patient an oxygen mask because the patient was suffocating from fluid in the lungs. He didn’t stop to put gloves on. Now he’s dead.

Like D.A. Carson said, you’ve got to be prepared for suffering and evil. (If you’ve never heard his sermon, On Being Prepared for Suffering and Evil, please listen — your attention will be rewarded: Part 1 & Part 2.) Once you’re in the middle of something like this, it’s too late to break out your theology textbook for answers. So decide now to trust God. It’ll be too late if you wait until the time comes.

As for me, I trust God more than I hate suffering and evil. But I really hate suffering and evil. A lot.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. (Romans 8:18-25, ESV)