SUFFERING: A CALL TO SELF EXAMINATION
“The presence of suffering in the world poses a problem for religion insofar as it seems to contradict the notion of an all powerful benevolent God. It would seem that if God were good, He would not want His creatures to suffer, and if, all powerful, He would be able to prevent their suffering.” (Encyclopadia Judaica, Second Edition, Volume 19, "Suffering", page 291)
From the beginning, the Bible has recognized the existence of suffering cause by sin and the relationship of personal suffering to personal sin. Since this relationship is strongly supported in scripture, the first person to examine in a time of tribulation is always our own self. God often uses suffering as the opportunity for self-examination to ensure that our walk is right before God, as it is written,
“Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent,” (Rev 3:19).
The writer of Hebrews tells us that “Those whom the LORD loves He disciplines” and “It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?” (Heb 12:6-7). The goal of suffering is “perfection” (Heb 5:9), “for our good, so that we may share His holiness,” (Heb 12:10).
Some have likened suffering from God to the work of a physician who sometimes is required to inflect pain to cause healing. Unfortunately, people most often see suffering as the convergence of random events that the individual has no control over. Consequently, individuals are rarely motivated to self-examination and the contemplation that could lead to significant change in our lives to the benefit of ourselves and those around us. Solomon, in his prayer during the dedication of the temple, spoke to the principle that God uses tribulation to bring about repentance,
“When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain, because they have sinned against You…If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, if there is blight or mildew, locust or grasshopper, if the enemy besieges them in the land of their cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, whatever prayer or supplication is made by any man or by all Your people Israel…spreading his hands toward his house; then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive and act and render to each according to his ways,” (1 Kings 8:35-39).
Five hundred years earlier, Moses warned the nation of Israel, “If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in the book…then the LORD will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants…He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt of which you were afraid, and they will cling to you,” (Deut 28:58-60). For Israel, sicknesses and suffering were both a sign of the nation’s sin and a call to repentance. Jesus confirmed this relationship saying, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” (Matt 4:17).
The principle of suffering as a call to self-examination carries into the Greek text. Luke records two examples that caused suffering and the interpretation of these events by Jesus.
“Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? 3 "I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 "Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? 5 ‘I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.’ " (Luke 13:1-5)
Both the slaying of the individuals by Pilate and those who perished when the tower of Siloam fell can be viewed as chance events; these individuals just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Jesus adds support for this position by saying that the Galileans and the eighteen in Siloam who suffered death were not any greater sinners than the rest of the people. However, Jesus uses the events to call his disciples to self examination, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” In the view of Jesus, the death of these individuals occurred as a sign that foreshadowed the coming judgment that would occur on all of Israel if the nation did not repent.
Hurricanes in the Gulf hitting New Orleans, hurricanes hitting New Jersey, earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan, tornadoes moving through Alabama, flooding along the Mississippi, and drought in West Texas and across much of the United States, should not be seen as random events. As in the Bible, these events are the call of God for all individuals to examine our personal walk and the walk of the greater community and nation. Do you suppose those 3000 people who died in the twin towers and onboard airplanes on 9/11 were greater sinners than other Americans? Or do you suppose the 300 people who died in the tornadoes in Alabama in April 2011 were worst sinners than the rest of the nation? Were the 25,000 people who died in the earthquake and tsunami in Japan greater sinners than the rest of us? “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
When a famine occurred for three years, David sought the LORD to determine the cause. The LORD told David, “It is for Saul and his bloody house, because he put the Gibeonites to death,” (2 Sam 21:1). The problem is that the average person and nation does not know the origin of their suffering and lack a prophet capable of revealing the origin. The mistake of some evangelists in the United States is not that they associate national judgment with the sin, but that they attempt to connect a specific judgment with a specific sin. For example, the toleration of homosexuality does impact the nation, but it is far from the single cause of the nation’s suffering. In the story recorded by Luke, the words of Jesus do not indicate that the death of the Galileans and the eighteen in Siloam occurred for any particular sin, but for the unrepentant hearts of the people in general. The future plagues contained in the Book of Revelations are given as a call to repentance,
“The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands…and did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts,” (Rev 9:20-21).
The recent national and world events may portend the initial stages of a greater coming judgment from God on the United States and the world if people do not repent. To the individuals who say that God does not operate in the is manner consider the fate of the United States in light of the path we have chosen and the words of the LORD who said, “In every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you,” (Ex 20:24). We may constantly ask God to “bless the United States,” but our lives are often not worthy of blessing. The consequences are inevitable without a course change. As it was said over two thousand years ago, so it remains true today, “Unless you repent, you will likewise perish.”
(to be continued - Scott)
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