God, Human Suffering And His Children
By: Ivie Powell
It is an indisputable fact that human beings, young and old alike, suffer. Christians suffer, atheists suffer, agnostics suffer! This is true whether one lives in America, China, Afghanistan, Hawaii or any other part of the world. Whether one is white, black, brown, yellow or red, educated or uneducated, rich or poor, no one is exempt from human suffering! Human suffering was taking place before the events of September 11, 2001!
Like others who have and are suffering, many are asking, "Why?" "Why do people suffer?" Or, "Why is God doing this?" All suffering exists because sin is in the world. In Romans 5:12, Paul says, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for all have sinned." God made man a free moral agent, thus giving him the power of choice to eat or not to eat. Thus, when Adam chose to partake of the forbidden fruit, sin and all its horrible consequences came into the world (Genesis 2:17; 3:1-7).
This is not to say that innocent children suffer because they are sinners, for they are not! Only those who have reached the age of responsibility are accountable for their sins (Ezek. 18:20; 28:15, Romans 7:9). However, the innocent can and do suffer because of the sins of others.
One should not, and must not blame God for all the evil that is in the world (James 1:12-18)! One must remember, "For we walk by faith, and not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7). Read once again Hebrews 11, that great chapter on faith, and your faith will be strengthened! Christians, like those of old, are not told the "Why?" of those things that befall us, but we trust in God and walk by faith (Proverbs 3:5-7, 2 Corinthians 5:7)! Remember, after all the suffering Job went through and the final chapter was written, God never told Job why He allowed Satan to punish him.
Since the wages of sin is death (Romans 3:23), and Christ shed his blood for the remission of sins (Matthew 26:28), one must be immersed to reach the blood of Christ (Romans 6:3-4) and arise to "walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4). The Lord then adds them to the church, wherein are the saved (Acts 2:47). With heaven as their goal, like Paul, the Christian can say, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us...Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword?...Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us" (Romans 8:18, 35, 37).
Remember, "The secret things belong unto God..." (Deuteronomy 29:29), that God is very much aware of what is taking place (Psalms 3:13-14), that He cares for His children (1 Peter 5:7), and will never forsake them (Hebrews 13:5)!